Statue  to  Minute  Man. 


MY  NATIVE  LAND. 


The  United  States:  its  Wonders,  its  Beauties,  and  its  People; 

with   Descriptive   Notes,    Character    Sketches,    Folk 

Lore,    Traditions,    Legends   and    History,    for 

the  Amusement  of  the  Old  and  the 

Instruction   of  the   Young. 


...  BY  ... 


JflMES  COX, 


Author  of  "Our  Own  Country,"   "Missouri  at  the  World's  Fair,"    "Old  and  New 
St.  lyOuis,"    "An  Arkansas  Eden,"    "Oklahoma  Revisited,"  Etc. 


'Breathes  there  a  man  icith  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself  has  said, 

This  is  my  own,  my  native  land." 


PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED. 


ST. 

Published  by  The  Blair  Publishing  Co. 
1895, 


COPYRIGHT,  1895, 
BY   MRS.  O.   E.    BLAIR. 
:      All  rights  reserved. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
OUR   NATION'S  BIRTH. 

The  Story  of  Liberty  Bell — Impartial  Opinions  on  the 
Revolutionary  War — The  Shot  that  was  Heard  Around  the 
World — The  First  Committee  of  Safety — A  Defeat  which 
Equaled  a  Victory — Washington's  Earnestness — To  Con- 
gress on  Horseback — The  First  4th  of  July  Celebration. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE    WITCH    OF  SALEM. 

A  Relic  of  Religious  Bigotry — Parson  Lawson's  Tirade 
against  Witchcraft — Extraordinary  Court  Records  of  Old 
Puritan  Days — Alleged  Supernatural  Conjuring — A  Man 
and  his  Wife  both  put  to  Death — Crushed  for  Refusing  to 
Plead — A  Romance  of  the  Old  Days  of  Witch  Persecution. 

CHAPTER  III. 

IN    PICTURESQUE    NEW    YORK. 

Some  Local  Errors  Corrected — A  Trip  Down  the  Hudson 
River — The  Last  of  the  Mohicans — The  Home  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle — The  Ladies  of  Vassar  and  their  Home — West 
Point  and  its  History — Sing  Sing  Prison — The  Falls  of 
Niagara — Indians  in  New  York  State. 


CONTEXTS. 
CHAPTER  IV. 

IN  THE  CENTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY, 

The  Geographical  Center  of  the  United  States,  and  its 
Location  West  of  the  Mississippi  River — The  Center  of 
Population — History  of  FortRiley — The  Gallant  "Seventh" 
— Early  Troubles  of  Kansas — Extermination  of  the  Buffalo 
— But  a  Few  Survivors  out  of  Many  Millions. 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  MORMONS  AND  THEIR  WIVES. 

The  Pilgrimage  Across  the  Bad  Lands  to  Utah — Inci- 
dents of  the  March — Success  of  the  New  Colony — Relig- 
ious Persecutions — Murder  of  an  Entire  Family — The  Curse 
of  Polygamy — An  Ideal  City — Humors  of  Bathing  in  Great 
Salt  Lake. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  INVASION  OF  OKLAHOMA. 

A  History  of  the  Indian  Nation — Early  Struggles  of 
Oklahoma  Boomers — Fight  between  Home-Seekers  and 
Soldiers- — Scenes  at  the  Opening  of  Oklahoma  Proper — A 
Miserable  Night  on  the  Prairie — A  Race  for  Homes — Law- 
lessness in  the  Old  Indian  Territory. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

COWBOYS REAL    AND    IDEAL. 

A  Much  Maligned  Class — The  Cowboy  as  he  Is,  antl  as 
he  is  Supposed  to  be — Prairie  Fever  and  how  it  is  Cured — 


CONTENTS. 

Life  on  the  Ranch  Thirty  Years  Ago  and  Now — Singular 
fashions  and  Changes  of  Costume — Troubles  Encountered 
by  would-be  Bad  Men. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

WARDS  OF  OUR  NATIVE  LAND. 

The  Indians'  Admirers  and  Critics — At  School  and  After 
— Indian  Courtship  and  Marriage — Extraordinary  Dances — 
Gambling  by  Instinct — How  "Cross-Eye"  Lost  his  Pony — 
Pawning  a  Baby — Amusing  and  Degrading  Scenes  on  An- 
nuity Day. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

CIVILIZATION ACTUAL  AND   ALLEGED. 

Tried  in  the  Balances  and  Found  Wanting — Indian 
Archers — Bow  and  Arrow  Lore — Barbarous  Customs  that 
Die  Slowly — "Great  Wolf,"  the  Indian  Vanderbilt — How 
the  Seri  were  Taught  a  Valuable  Lesson — Playing  with 
Rattlesnakes  with  Impunity. 

CHAPTER  X. 

OLD    TIME    COMMUNISTS. 

Houses  on  Rocks  and  Sand  Hills — How  Many  Families 
Dwelt  Together  in  Unity — Peculiarities  of  Costumes — 
Pueblo  Architecture  and  Folk  Lore — A  Historic  Struggle 
and  how  it  Ended — Legends  Concerning  Montezuina — 
Curious  Religious  Ceremonies, 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  XI. 

HOW  CUSTER  LIVED  AND  DIED. 

"Remember  Custer" — An  Eye- Witness  of  the  Massacre 
— Custer,  Cody  and  Alexis — A  Ride  over  the  Scenes  of  the 
Unequal  Conflict — Major  Reno's  Marked  Failure — How 
" Sitting  Bull"  Ran  Away  and  Lived  to  Fight  Another  Day 
— Why  a  Medicine  Man  did  not  Summon  Rain. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

AMONG    THE    CREOLES. 

Meaning  of  the  word  "Creole" — An  Old  Aristocratic 
Relic — The  Venice  of  America — Origin  of  the  Creole  Car- 
nivals— Rex  and  his  Annual  Disguises — Creole  Balls — The 
St.  Louis  Veiled  Prophets — The  French  Market  and  other 
Landmarks  in  New  Orleans — A  Beautiful  Ceremony  and  an 
Unfinished  Monument. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    HEATHEN    CHINEE  IN  HIS    ELEMENT. 

A  Trip  to  Chinatown,  San  Francisco — A  House  with  a 
History — Narrow  Alleys  and  Secret  Doors — Opium  Smok- 
ing and  its  Effects — The  Highbinders — Celestial  Theatricals 
— Chinese  Festivals — The  Brighter  Side  of  a  Great  City — 
A  Mammoth  Hotel  and  a  Beautiful  Park. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

BEFORE  EMANCIPATION  AND  AFTER. 

First  Importation  of  Negro  Slaves  into  America — The 
Original  Abolitionists — A  Colored  Enthusiast  and  a  Coward 
— Origin  of  the  word  "Secession" — John  Brown's  Fanati- 


CONTENTS. 

cism — Uncle  Tom's  Cabin — Faithful  unto  Death — George 
Augustus  Sala  on  the  Negro  who  Lingered  too  long  in  the 
Mill  Pond. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

OUR  NATIONAL  PARK. 

A  Delightful  Rhapsody — Early  History  of  Yellowstone 
Park — A  Fish  Story  which  Convulsed  Congress — The  First 
White  Man  to  Visit  the  Park — A  Race  for  Life — Philosophy 
of  the  Hot  Springs — Mount  Everts — From  the  Geysers  to 
Elk  Park — Some  Old  Friends  and  New  Ones — Yellowstone 
Lake — The  Angler's  Paradise. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  HEROES  OF  THE  IRON  HORSE. 

Honor  to  whom  Honor  is  Due — A  Class  of  Men  Not 
Always  Thoroughly  Appreciated  at  their  Worth — An  Ama- 
teur's Ride  on  a  Flying  Locomotive — From  Twelve  Miles 
an  Hour  to  Six  Times  that  Speed — The  Signal  Tower  and 
the  Men  who  Work  in  it — Stealing  a  Train — A  Race  with 
Steam — Stories  about  Bewitched  Locomotives  and  Provi- 
dential Escapes. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

A  RAILROAD  TO  THE  CLOUDS. 

Early  History  of  Manitou — Zebulon  Pike's  Important 
Discovery — A  Young  Medicine  Man's  Peril  and  Final 
Triumph — A  Health  Resort  in  Years  Gone  By — The  Garden 
of  the  Gods — The  Railroad  up  Pike's  Peak — Early  Failures 
and  Final  Success — The  Most  Remarkable  Road  in  the 
World — Riding  Above  the  Clouds. 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  XVIII. 

INTO  THE  BOWELS  OF  THE  EARTH. 

The  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado — Niagara  Outdone — 
The  Course  of  the  Colorado  River — A  Survey  Party  Through 
the  Canon — Experiences  of  a  Terrible  Night — Wonderful 
Contrasts  of  Color  in  the  Massive  Rocks — A  Natural  Wall 
a  Thousand  Feet  High — Hieroglyphics  which  have  Never 
been  Deciphered — Relics  of  a  Superior  Race — Conjecture 
as  to  the  Origin  of  the  Ancient  Bearded  White  Men. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

OUR    GREAT    WATERWAYS. 

Importance  of  Rivers  to  Commerce  a  Generation  Ago — 
The  Ideal  River  Man — The  Great  Mississippi  River  and  its 
Importance  to  our  Native  Land — The  Treacherous  Missouri 
— A  First  Mate  who  Found  a  Cook's  Disguise  very  Con- 
venient— How  a  Second  Mate  got  over  the  Inconvenience 
of  Temporary  Financial  Embarrassment. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

THROUGH  THE  GREAT  NORTHWEST. 

The  Importance  of  Some  of  our  Newest  States — Roman- 
tic History  of  Montana — The  Bad  Lands  and  their  Exact 
Opposite — Civilization  Away  Up  in  the  Mountains — Indians 
who  have  Never  Quarreled  with  White  Men — Traditions 
Concerning  Mount  Tacoma — Wonderful  Towns  of  the  Ex- 
treme Northwest — A  State  Shaped  like  a  Large  Chair — The 
Falls  of  Shoshone. 


CONTEXTS. 
CHAPTER  XXI. 

IN  THE  WARM  SOUTHEAST. 

Florida  and  its  Appropriate  Name — The  First  Portions 
of  North  America  Discovered  by  White  Men — Early  Vicissi- 
tudes of  its  Explorers — An  Enormous  Coast  Line — How 
Xey  West  came  to  be  a  great  Cigar  Town — The  Suwanee 
River — St.  Augustine  and  its  World-Renowned  Hotel- 
Old  Fort  Marion. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Statue  to  Minute  Man,                .              .  Frontispiece 

Interior  of  Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia,  Page   17 

Tomb  of  General  Grant,  Riverside  Park,  .  "      35 

A  Memory  of  Rip  Van  Winkle,        .       .  .  .  "      53 

The  Exact  Center  of  United  States,         .  .  "      71 

Brigham  Young's  Grave,  Salt  Lake  City,  .  "      89 

Chief  Rain-in-the-Face  and  his  Favorite  Pony,  "    107 

The  Cowboy  as  He  Is,     .         .         .  .  "    125 

Civilized  Indians,    .          „          .          .         .  4<    143 

An  Uncivilized  Savage,             .         .         .  "    1G1 

The  Belle  of  the  Pueblo,          ....  "179 

Custer  Battlefield  and  Monument,            ,.  .  "    197 

The  Old  French  Market  at  New  Orleans,  .  "    215 

The  Prettiest  Chinese  Woman  in  America,  .  "    233 

Yellowstone  Falls,            .         .          ...  "251 

In  and  Around  Yellowstone  Park,             .  .  "    269 

A  Marvel  of  Magnificence.       .         .         .  .  "    287 

Climbing  Pike's  Peak  by  Rail,         .         .  .  "    305 

Hieroglyphic  Memoirs  of  Past  Ages,        .  .  *'    323 

A  Fin  de  Siecle  Pleasure  Steamer,            .  .  .  «*    341 

Whaleback  Steamer  on  the  Lakes,            .  .  '*    359 

Two  Views  of  Mount  Tacoma,         .         .  .  "    377 

A  Restful  Southern  Home,     .  "    395 


(H) 


MY  NATIVE  LAND. 


CHAPTER  I. 
OUR   NATION'S  BIRTH. 

The  Story  of  Liberty  Bell  —  Impartial  Opinions  on  the  Revolutionary 
War— The  Shot  that  was  Heard  Around  the  World— The  First  Com- 
mittee of  Safety — A  Defeat  whith  Equaled  a  Victory — Washington's 
Earnestness — To  Congress  on  Horseback — The  First  4th  of  July 
Celebration. 

TT  was  not  until  April  19th,  1775,  that  the  shot  was 
••  fired  which  was  "heard  around  the  world."  But  the 
struggle  for  American  Independence  was  really  started 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  earlier,  when  on  the  after- 
noon of  August  27th,  1753,  Liberty  Bell  was  rung  to  call 
together  the  Assembly  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  the  old  days  of  town  meetings,  training  days,  town 
schools  and  Puritans,  bells  took  a  more  prominent  part  in 
public  affairs  than  they  do  to-day.  It  was  usual  to  call  the 
people  together  for  purposes  of  deliberation  by  means  of  a 
village  or  town  bell,  and  of  these  bells  the  one  to  which  we 
refer  was  the  most  important  and  interesting.  Liberty 
Bell  is  well  named.  It  was  ordered  in  the  year  1751,  and 
it  was  delivered  a  year  later.  Shortly  afterwards,  it 
cracked,  and  had  to  be  recast,  but  in  June,  1753,  it  was 
finally  hung  in  the  Pennsylvania  State  House  at  Phila- 
delphia. It  has  never  been  removed  from  the  building 
except  on  two  occasions.  The  first  of  these  was  in  1777, 

(18) 


14  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

when  it  was  taken  to  Allentown  for  safety,  and  the  second 
in  1885,  when  it  was  exhibited  at  New  Orleans. 

This  bell,  which  sounded  the  death-blow  to  tyranny  and 
oppression,  was  first  rung  to  call  together  the  Assembly r 
which  immediately  resolved  to  insist  upon  certain  rights 
which  had  been  denied  the  colonists  by  the  British  Crown. 
Eighteen  months  later,  it  was  again  rung  to  announce 
the  meeting  at  which  the  rights  of  the  colonists  wore 
sternly  defined  and  insisted  upon.  In  1765,  it  convened 
the  meeting  of  the  Assembly  at  which  it  was  resolved 
to  be  represented  at  the  Congress  of  the  Colonies  in  New 
York,  and  a  month  later  it  was  muffled  and  tolled  when  the 
44  Eoyal  Charlotte'7  arrived,  bearing  the  much  hated 
stamps,  whose  landing  was  not  permitted.  Again  it  rang 
muffled,  when  the  Stamp  Act  went  into  operation,  and 
when  the  people  publicly  burned  stamp  papers.  In  1708, 
the  Liberty  Bell  called  a  meeting  of  the  men  of 
Philadelphia,  who  protested  once  again  against  the  oppres- 
sion of  government  without  representation.  In  1771,  it 
called  the  Assembly  together  to  petition  the  King  of 
England  for  the  repeal  of  the  duty  on  tea,  and  two  }Tears 
later  it  summoned  together  the  largest  crowd  ever  seen  in 
Philadelphia  up  to  that  date.  At  that  meeting  it  was 
resolved  that  the  ship  "Polly,"  loaded  with  tea,  should  not 
be  allowed  to  land. 

In  1774,  the  bell  was  muffled  and  tolled  on  the  closing 
of  the  Port  of  Boston,  and  in  the  following  year  it  con- 
vened the  memorable  meeting  following  the  battle  of  Lex- 
ington. On  this  occasion  8,000  people  assembled  in 
the  State  House  yard  and  unanimously  agreed  to  associate 
for  the  purpose  of  defending,  with  arms,  their  lives,  liberty 
and  property  against  all  attempts  to  deprive  them  of  them. 


OUR  NATION'S  BIRTH.  15 

In  June,  1776,  Liberty  Bell  announced  the  submission  to 
Congress  of  the  draft  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  on  July  4th  of  the  same  year,  the  same  bell  announced 
the  signing  of  the  Declaration.  On  July  8th  of  the  same 
year,  the  bell  was  tolled  vigorously  for  the  great  proclama- 
tion of  America's  Independence.  The  tolling  was  sus- 
pended while  the  Declaration  was  read,  and  was  once  more 
rung  when  that  immortal  document  had  been  thus  formally 
promulgated. 

In  April,  1783,  Liberty  Bell  rang  the  proclamation  of 
Peace,  and  on  July  4th,  1826,  it  ushered  in  the  year  of 
Jubilee. 

The  last  tolling  of  the  bell  was  in  July,  1835,  when, 
while  slowly  tolling,  and  without  any  apparent  reason,  the 
bell,  which  had  played  such  an  important  part  in  the 
War  of  Independence,  and  in  the  securing  of  liberty  for  the 
people  of  this  great  country,  parted  through  its  side,  mak- 
ing a  large  rent,  which  can  still  be  clearly  seen.  It  was  as 
though  the  bell  realized  that  its  great  task  was  accom- 
plished, and  that  it  could  leave  to  other  and  younger  bells, 
the  minor  duties  which  remained  to  be  performed. 

This  is  not  a  history  of  the  United  States,  but  is  rather 
a  description  of  some  of  the  most  interesting  and  remarka- 
ble features  to  be  found  in  various  parts  of  it.  It  is 
difficult,  however,  to  describe  scenes  and  buildings  without 
at  least  brief  historical  reference,  and  as  we  present  an 
excellent  illustration  of  the  apartment  in  which  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  signed,  we  are  compelled  to  make 
a  brief  reference  to  the  circumstances  and  events  which 
preceded  that  most  important  event  in  the  world's  history. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  conflict  between  the  home  country 
the  colonies  commenced  long  before  there  was  any 


16  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

actual  outbreak.  As  Mr.  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson 
so  graphically  expresses  it,  the  surrender  of  Canada  to 
England  by  France  in  1763  suddenly  opened  men's  eyes  to 
the  fact  that  British  America  had  become  a  country  so 
large  as  to  make  England  seem  ridiculously  small.  Even 
the  cool-headed  Dr.  Franklin,  writing  that  same  year  to 
Mary  Stevenson  in  London,  spoke  of  England  as  "that 
stone  in  a  brook,  scarce  enough  of  it  above  water  to  keep 
one's  shoes  dry."  A  far-seeing  French  statesman  of  the 
period  looked  at  the  matter  in  the  same  way.  Choiseul, 
the  Prime  Minister  who  ceded  Canada,  claimed  afterwards 
that  he  had  done  it  in  order  to  destroy  the  British  nation  by 
creating  for  it  a  rival.  This  assertion  was  not  made  till 
ten  years  later,  and  may  very  likely  have  been  an  after- 
thought, but  it  was  destined  to  be  confirmed  by  the 
facts. 

We  have  now  to  deal  with  the  outbreak  of  a  contest 
which  was,  according  to  the  greatest  of  the  English  states- 
men of  the  period,  "a  most  accursed,  wicked,  barbarous, 
cruel,  unnatural,  unjust,  and  diabolical  war."  No  Ameri- 
can writer  ever  employed  to  describe  it  a  combination  of 
adjectives  so  vigorous  as  those  brought  together  by  the 
elder  Pitt,  afterwards  Lord  Chatham.  The  rights  for 
which  Americans  fought  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  common 
rights  of  Englishmen,  and  many  Englishmen  thought  the 
same. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  are  now  able  to  do  justice  to 
those  American  Loyalists  who  honestly  believed  that  the 
attempt  at  independence  was  a  mad  one,  and  who  sacrificed 
all  they  had  rather  than  rebel  against  their  King.  Massa- 
chusettensis,  the  well-known  Tory  pamphleteer,  wrote  that 
the  annals  of  the  world  had  not  been  deformed  with  a 


OUR  NATION'S  BIRTH.  19 

single  instance  of  so  unnatural,  so  causeless,  so  wanton,  so 
wicked  a  rebellion. 

These  strong  epithets  used  on  both  sides  show  how 
strangely  opinions  were  divided  as  to  the  rebellion  and  its 
causes.  Some  of  the  first  statesmen  of  England  defended 
the  colonists,  and  some  of  the  best  known  men  in  the 
colonies  defended  England. 

The  City  of  Boston  at  this  time  had  a  population  of 
about  seventeen  thousand,  as  compared  with  some  half  a 
million  to-day.  In  its  garrison  there  were  three  thousand 
British  troops,  and  the  laws  of  Parliament  were  enforced 
rigidly.  The  city  suffered  temporary  commercial  death 
in  consequence,  and  there  were  the  most  vigorous  efforts 
made  to  prevent  an  open  outbreak  of  hostilities.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1775,  a  conflict  was  barely  averted  at  Marshfield,  and 
in  the  following  month  the  situation  was  so  strained  at 
Salem  that  nothing  but  .great  forbearance  and  presence  of 
mind  on  the  part  of  the  colonists  prevented  bloodshed. 
The  Boston  massacre  of  less  than  five  years  before  was 
still  uppermost  in  men's  thoughts,  and  it  was  determined 
that  the  responsibility  of  the  first  shot  in  the  war,  if  war 
there  must  be,  should  rest  with  the  Royal  troops. 

Accordingly,  the  colonists  accepted  insult  and  abuse 
until  they  were  suspected  by  the  British  troops  of  cow- 
ardice. One  officer  wrote  home  telling  his  friends  that 

o 

there  was  no  danger  of  war,  because  the  colonists  were 
bullies,  but  not  fighters,  adding  that  any  two  regiments 
ought  to  be  decimated  which  could  not  beat  the  entire 
force  arrayed  against  them.  But  the  conflict  could  not  be 
long  delayed.  It  was  on  April  18th,  1775,  that  Paul  Revere 
rode  his  famous  ride.  He  had  seen  the  two  lights  in  a 
church  steeple  in  Boston,  which  had  been  agreed  upon  as  a 


20  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

signal  that  the  British  troops  were  about  to  seize  the  sup- 
plies of  the  patriots  at  Concord.  Sergeant  Monroe's 
caution  against  making  unnecessary  noise,  was  met  by  his 
rejoinder,  "You  will  have  noise  enough  here  before  long — 
the  regulars  are  coming  out." 

Then  he  commenced  his  ride  for  life,  or,  rather,  for 
the  lives  of  others.  We  all  know  the  result  of  his  ride, 
and  how  church  bells  were  tolled  and  signal  shots  fired  to 
warn  the  people  that  the  soldiers  were  coming.  It  was  a 
night  of  tumult  and  horror,  no  one  knowing  what  brutality 
they  had  to  expect  from  the  now  enraged  British  soldiers. 
The  women  of  the  towns,  warned  by  the  pre-arranged 
signals,  hurried  their  children  from  their  homes,  and  fled 
to  farm,  houses,  and  even  barns  in  the  vicinity.  Before 
daybreak  the  British  troops  had  reached  Lexington 
Green.  Here  they  found  Captain  Parker  and  38  men 
standing  up  before  twenty  times  that  number  of  armed 
troops,  indifferent  as  to  their  fate,  but  determined  to  pro- 
tect their  cause  and  their  friends.  The  Captain's  words 
have  passed  into  history.  They  took  the  form  of  an  order 
to  the  men : 

"Don't  fire  unless  you  are  fired  on;  but,  if  they  want  a 
war,  let  it  begin  here." 

History  tells  us  of  few  such  unequal  contests  as  this. 
The  troops  fired  on  the  gallant  little  band,  and  seven  of 
their  number  were  killed.  The  fight  at  Concord  followed, 
when  450  Americans  met  the  British  troops  at  the  North 
Bridge,  where 

"Once  the  embattled  farmers  stood, 
And  fired  the  shot  heard  around  the  world." 

The  British  detachment  was  beaten  back  in  disorder,  but 
the  main  body  wi*s  too  strong  to  be  attacked.  The  minute 


OUR  NATION'S  BIRTH.  21 

men,  however,  made  a  most  magnificent  fight,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  day  they  had  killed  273  British  soldiers,  only 
93  of  their  own  number  being  among  the  killed  or 
missing. 

Thus  commenced  the  War  of  Independence,  the  event 
being  described  by  Dr.  Joseph  Warren  in  a  document  of 
sufficient  interest  to  warrant  its  reproduction  in  full. 

"The  barbarous  murders  committed  on  our  innocent 
brethren,"  wrote  the  doctor,  "have  made  it  absolutely 
necessary  that  we  immediately  raise  an  army  to  defend 
xOur  wives  and  our  children  from  the  butchering  hands  of 
an  inhuman  soldiery,  who,  incensed  at  the  obstacles  they 
met  with  in  their  bloody  progress,  and  enraged  at  being 
repulsed  from  the  field  of  slaughter,  will,  without  the  least 
doubt,  take  the  first  opportunity  in  their  power  to  ravage 
this  devoted  country  with  fire  and  sword.  We  conjure 
you,  therefore,  by  all  that  is  dear,  by  all  that  is  sacred, 
that  you  give  all  assistance  possible  in  forming  an  army. 
Our  all  is  at  stake.  Death  and  devastation  are  the  instant 
consequences  of  delay.  Every  moment  is  infinitely 
precious.  An  hour  lost  may  deluge  our  country  in  blood, 
and  entail  perpetual  slavery  upon  the  few  of  your  pos- 
terity who  may  survive  the  carnage.  We  beg  and  entreat, 
as  you  will  answer  to  your  country,  to  your  own  con- 
sciences, and,  above  all,  as  you  will  answer  to  God  himself, 
that  you  will  hasten  and  encourage,  by  all  possible  means, 
the  enlistment  of  men  to  form  an  army,  and  send  them 
forward  to  headquarters  at  Cambridge,  with  that  expedi- 
tion which  the  vast  importance  and  instant  urgency  of  the 
affair  demand." 

Two  days  after  the  fight,  the  Massachusetts  Com- 
mittee of  Safety  resolved  to  enlist  8,000  men,  an  event 


22  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

which  our  old  friend  Liberty  Bell  celebrated  by  a  vigorous 
tolling.  All  over  the  colonies  a  spirit  of  determination  to 
resist  spread  like  lightning,  and  the  shot  that  was  heard 
around  the  world  was  certainly  heard  very  distinctly  in 
every  nook  and  corner  of  New  England,  and  of  the  old 
Atlantic  States.  Naturally,  there  was  at  first  a  lack  of 
concentration  and  even  of  discipline ;  but  what  was  lacking 
in  these  features  was  more  than  made  up  for  by  bravery  and 
determination.  As  John  Adams  wrote  in  1818,  the  army 
at  Cambridge  at  this  time  was  not  a  National  army,  for 
there  was  no  nation.  It  was  not  even  an  army  of  the 
United  Colonies,  because  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia 
had  not  adopted  or  acknowledged  the  army  at  Cambridge. 
It  was  not  even  the  New  England  army,  for  each  State 
had  its  separate  armies,  which  had  united  to  imprison  the 
British  army  in  Boston.  There  was  not  even  the  Com- 
rnander-in-Chief  of  the  allied  armies. 

These  anomalies,  of  course,  righted  themselves  rapidly. 
Gage's  proclamation  of  martial  law  expedited  the  battle 
at  Bunker  Hill,  which  was  brought  about  by  the  impa- 
tience of  the  British  troops,  and  by  the  increased  confi- 
dence among  the  colonists,  resulting  from  the  fights  at 
Lexington  and  Concord.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that  the 
untrained  American  troops  failed  to  vanquish  the  British 
army  at  Bunker  Hill,  but  the  monument  at  that  spot  cele- 
brates the  fact  that  for  two  hours  the  attacks  of  the 
regulars  were  withstood.  A  prominent  English  news- 
paper described  the  battle  as  one  of  innumerable  errors  on 
the  part  of  the  British.  As  William  Tudor  wrote  so 
graphically,  ''The  Ministerial  troops  gained  the  hill,  but 
were  victorious  losers.  A  few  more  such  victories  and 
they  are  undone."  Many  writers  have  been  credited  with 


0*77?  NATION' 8  BIRTH.  23 

the  authorship  of  a  similar  sentiment,  written  from  the 
American  standpoint.  "It  is  true  that  we  were  beaten, 
but  it  will  not  take  many  such  defeats  to  accomplish  a 
magnificent  victory . ' ' 

What  began  to  be  known  as  the  great  American  army 
increased  in  strength.  It  was  adopted  by  Congress,  and 
George  Washington  placed  in  command.  Under  the  his- 
toric elm  tree  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  which  was  the  scene  of 
so  many  important  councils  in  the  first  hours  of  the  life  of 
the  United  States,  he  assumed  the  authority  bestowed 
upon  him  with  this  office,  anxl  a  week  later  he  held  a  council 
with  his  officers.  He  found  some  17,000  men  at  his  com- 
mand, whom  he  described  as  a  mixed  multitude  of  people 
tinder  very  little  discipline. 

William  Emerson,  grandfather  of  the  great  poet,  in  a 
soliloquy  on  the  strange  turn  events  had  taken,  said  "Who 
would  have  thought,  twelve  months  past,  that  all  Cam- 
bridge and  Charleston  would  be  covered  over  with  Amer- 
ican camps  and  cut  up  into  forts  and  entrenchments,  and 
all  the  lands,  fields  and  orchards  laid  common,  with  horses 
and  cattle  feeding  on  the  choicest  mowing  land,  and  large 
parks  of  well-regulated  locusts  cut  down  for  firewood. 
This,  I  must  say,  looks  a  little  melancholy.  It  is  very  divert- 
ing to  walk  among  the  camps.  They  are  as  different  in 
their  look  as  the  owners  are  in  their  dress,  and  every  tent 
is  a  portraiture  of  the  temper  and  tastes  of  the  persons  who 
encamp  in  it.  Some  are  made  of  boards  and  some  of  sail- 
cloth ;  some  partly  of  one  and  some  partly  of  the  other ; 
again,  others  are  made  of  stone  and  turf,  brick  or  brush. 
Some  are  thrown  up  in  a  hurry,  others  curiously  wrought 
with  doors  and  windows,  done  with  wreaths  and  withes,  in 
the  manner  of  a  basket.  Some  are  proper  tents,  looking 


24  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

like  the  regular  camp  of  the  enemy.  In  these  are  the  Rhode 
Islanders,  who  are  furnished  with  tent  equipages  and  every- 
thing in  the  most  exact  English  style.  However,  I  think 
this  great  variety  is  rather  a  beauty  than  a  blemish  in  the 
army." 

As  was  to  be  expected,  there  was  more  or  less  of  a  lack 
of  harmony  and  unity  among  the  companies  of  men  col- 
lected together  to  form  an  army  to  fight  for  liberty. 
History  tells  us  that  there  was  even  a  little  jealousy  between 
the  four  New  England  colonies.  There  was  also  a  good  deal 
of  distrust  of  Washington.  It*was  argued  that  at  least  one- 
third  of  the  class  from  which  he  came  had  Tory  and 
Royalist  inclinations,  and  what  guarantee  had  they  that 
Washington  was  not  one  of  their  number?  Washington 
himself  found  that  those  who  styled  themselves  in  old 
country  parlance  "The  Gentry,"  were  loyal  to  King  George 
rather  than  to  the  colonies,  and  while  his  own  men  were 
inclined,  at  times,  to  doubt  the  sincerity  of  the  Father  of 
his  Country,  the  very  men  with  whom  he  was  suspected  of 
being  in  sympathy  were  denouncing  him  with  vigor. 

Washington,  to  his  lasting  credit  be  it  said,  was  indiffer- 
ent both  to  praise  and  censure.  Seeing  that  discipline  was 
the  one  thing  needful,  he  commenced  to  enforce  it  with  an 
iron  hand.  He  declined  any  remuneration,  and  gave  his 
services  freely  to  the  cause.  He  found  himself  short 
of  ammunition,  and  several  times  he  lost  a  number  of 
his  men.  In  the  spring  of  1776,  Washington  went  to 
New  York  with  his  Continental  army.  Here  he  found 
new  difficulties,  and  met  with  a  series  of  mishaps.  The 
failure  of  the  advance  into  Canada  during  the  winter 

O 

had  hurt  materially,  but  the  bravery  of  the  troops  in 
the  Carolinas  came  as  a  grand  encouragement. 


OUR  NATION'S  BIRTH.  25 

We  need  not  trace  further  the  progress  of  the  war,  or 
note  how,  through  many  discouragements  and  difficulties, 
the  cause  of  right  was  made  to  triumph  over  the  cause  of 
might.  We  will  pass  on  to  note  a  few  of  the  interesting 
facts  in  connection  with  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  To-day,  our  Senators  and  Congressmen 
travel  to  the  National  Capital  in  Pullman  cars,  surrounded 
by  every  luxury  that  wealth  and  influence  can  bring 
them . 

In  the  days  of  the  Continental  Congress  it  required  a 
good  deal  more  nerve  to  fulfill  one's  duty.  The  delegate  had 
to  journey  to  Congress  on  horseback.  Sometimes  he  could 
find  a  little  country  inn  at  which  he  could  sleep  at  night, 
but  at  others  he  had  to  camp  in  the  open  as  best  he  could. 
Frequently  a  friendly  warning  would  cause  him  to  make  a 
detour  of  several  miles  in  order  to  escape  some  threatened 
danger,  and,  altogether,  his  march  to  the  capital  was  far 
from  being  triumphant. 

At  this  particular  period  the  difficulties  were  more  than 
usually  great.  The  delegates  arrived  at  Philadelphia  jaded 
and  tired.  They  found  stable  room  for  their  horses,  made 
the  best  toilet  possible,  and  found  their  way  at  once  to 
Independence  Hall,  where  opinions  were  exchanged.  On 
the  7th  of  June,  Richard  Henry  Lee  of  Virginia  submitted  a 
.series  of  resolutions,  under  the  instructions  of  the  Virginia 
Assembly — resolutions  which,  it  may  be  stated,  pledged 
the  colonies  to  carry  on  the  war  until  the  English  were 
entirely  driven  out  of  the  country.  Congress  declared 
deliberately  that  the  United  States  was  absolved  from  all 
allegiance  to  the  British  Crown,  and  it  then  proceeded  to 
burn  its  bridges,  by  declaring  the  expediency  of  taking 
effectual  measures  for  forming  foreign  alliances.  John 


26  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

Adams  seconded  the  resolutions,  which  were  not  passed 
without  debate. 

Delegates  from  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  South 
Carolina  opposed  the  proposition  very  vigorously,  one 
member  stating  that  it  required  the  impudence  of  a  New 
Englander  for  them,  in  their  disjointed  state,  to  propose  a 
treaty  to  a  nation  now  at  peace ;  that  no  reason  could  be 
assigned  for  pressing  this  measure  but  the  reason  of  every 
madman — a  show  of  spirit.  John  Adams  defended  the 
resolutions,  claiming  that  they  proclaimed  objects  of  the 
most  stupendous  magnitude,  in  which  the  lives  and  liberties 
of  millions  yet  unborn  were  infinitely  interested.  Finally, 
the  consideration  was  postponed,  to  be  passed  almost 
unanimously  on  July  2d.  John  Adams  was  most  enthu- 
siastic over  this  result,  and,  writing  to  his  wife  on  the 
subject,  he  said : 

"The  2d  day  of  July,  1776,  will  be  the  most  memorable 
epoch  in  the  history  of  America.  I  am  apt  to  believe  that 
it  will  be  celebrated  by  succeeding  generations  as  the  great 
anniversary  festival.  It  ought  to  be  commemorated  as  a 
day  of  deliverance,  by  solemn  acts  of  devotion  to  God 
Almighty,  from  one  end  of  the  continent  to  the  other, 
from  this  time  forward,  forevermore." 

But  although  the  day  referred  to  by  John  Adams  saw 
the  thirteen  colonies  become  independent  States,  it  is  July 
the  4th  that  the  country  celebrates.  On  that  day  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  promulgated.  This  mar- 
velous document  was  prepared  by  Jefferson  in  a  small  brick 
house,  which  then  stood  out  in  the  fields,  but  which  is  now 
known  as  the  southwest  corner  of  Market  and  Seventh 
Streets,  Philadelphia.  It  is  situated  within  about  four 
hundred  yards  of  Independence  Square.  In  his  little  room 


0  UR  NA TION* S  BIB TH.  27 

in  this  house,  cm  a  very  small  writing  desk,  which  is  still  in 
existence,  Jefferson  drafted  the  title  deed  of  our  liberties. 
He  wrote  without  reference  of  any  kind,  merely  placing 
upon  paper  the  succession  of  thoughts  which  had  been 
paramount  in  his  mind  for  years.  In  the  original  docu- 
ment, as  submitted  by  Jefferson,  there  appeared  a  stern 
condemnation  of  the  ''piratical  warfare  against  human 
nature  itself,"  as  slavery  was  described.  This  was  stricken 
out  by  Congress,  and  finally  the  document,  as  amended, 
was  adopted  by  the  vote  of  twelve  colonies,  New  York 
declining  to  vote. 

We  give  an  illustration  of  the  Interior  of  Independence 
Hall.  Here  it  was  that  the  Declaration  was  signed. 
According  to  some  authorities  the  signing  did  not  take 
place  on  July  4th,  while  according  to  others  it  did.  Some 
records  seem  to  show  that  fifty-four  of  the  fifty-six  names 
were  attached  to  the  parchment  on  August  2d.  Jefferson 
frequently  stated  that  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  was 
hastened  by  a  very  trivial  circumstance.  Near  the  Hall  there 
was  a  large  stable,  where  flies  abounded.  All  the  delegates 
wore  silk  stockings,  and  were  thus  in  a  condition  to  be  easily 
annoyed  by  flies.  The  heat  was  intolerable,  and  a 
tremendous  invasion  by  the  little  pests,  who  were  not 
retarded  by  fly  screens  or  mosquito  bars,  drove  the  legis- 
lators almost  frantic,  and  caused  them  to  append  their 
signatures  to  the  document  with  almost  indecent  haste. 

However  this  may  be,  the  Declaration  was  finally  signed, 
and  Liberty  Bell  proclaimed  the  fact  to  all  within  hearing. 
John  Hancock,  we  are  told,  referred  to  his  almost  school- 
boy signature  with  a  smile,  saying  that  John  Bull  could 
read  his  name  without  spectacles.  Franklin  is  said  to  have 
remarked  that  they  must  all  hang  together,  or  else  most 


28  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

assuredly  they  would  all  hang  separately — a  play  upon 
words  showing  that  the  patriot's  sense  of  humor  was  too 
admirably  developed  to  be  dimmed  even  by  an  event  of 
this  magnitude. 

There  were  rejoicings  on  every  hand  that  the  great  act 
had  been  accomplished.  A  very  pleasing  story  tells  of 
how  an  aged  bell-ringer  waited  breathlessly  to  announce  to 
waking  thousands  the  vote  of  Congress.  This  story  has 
since  been  denied,  and  it  seems  evident  that  the  vote  was 
not  announced  until  the  following  day,  when  circulars  were 
issued  to  the  people.  On  July  6th,  the  Declaration  was 
printed  in  a  Philadelphia  newspaper,  and  on  the  8th, 
John  Nixon  read  the  Declaration  in  the  yard  of  Independ- 
ence Hall.  On  the  same  day,  the  Royal  Arms  over  the 
door  of  the  Supreme  Court  Room  were  torn  down,  and  the 
trophies  thus  secured  burned. 

The  first  4th  of  July  celebration  of  which  we  have 
any  record,  took  place  two  years  after  the  signing. 
General  Howe  had  left  the  city  shortly  before,  and  every 
one  was  feeling  bright  and  happy.  In  the  diary  of  one  of 
the  old  patriots  who  took  part  in  this  unique  celebration, 
appears  the  following  quaint,  and  even  picturesque, 
description  of  the  events  of  the  day : 

"On  the  glorious  4th  of  July  (1778),  I  celebrated  in 
the  City  Tavern,  with  my  brother  delegates  of  Congress 
and  a  number  of  other  gentlemen,  amounting,  in  whole,  to 
about  eighty,  the  anniversary  of  Independency.  The  enter- 
tainment was  elegant  and  well  conducted.  There  were  four 
tables  spread ;  two  of  them  extended  the  whole  length  of 
the  room ;  the  other  two  crossed  them  at  right  angles.  At 
the  end  of  the  room,  opposite  the  upper  table,  was  erected 
an  Orchestra.  At  the  head  of  the  upper  table,  and  at  the 


OUR  NATION' 8  BIRTH.  29 

President's  right  hand,  stood  a  large  baked  pudding,  in  the 
center  of  which  was  planted  a  staff,  on  which  was  displayed 
a  crimson  flag,  in  the  midst  of  which  was  this  emblematic 
device:  An  eye,  denoting  Providence;  a  label,  on  which 
was  inscribed,  'An  appeal  to  Heaven;'  a  man  with  a  drawn 
sword  in  his  hand,  and  in  the  other  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  at  his  feet  a  scroll  inscribed,  « The 
declaratory  acts.'  As  soon  as  the  dinner  began,  the  music, 
consisting  of  clarionets,  hautboys,  French  horns,  violins 
and  bass-viols,  opened  and  continued,  making  proper 
pauses,  until  it  was  finished.  Then  the  toasts,  followed  by 
a  discharge  of  field-pieces,  were  drank,  and  so  the  after- 
noon ended.  On  the  evening  there  was  a  cold  collation 
and  a  brilliant  exhibition  of  fireworks.  The  street  was 
crowded  with  people  during  the  exhibition. 

"What  a  strange  vicissitude  in  human  affairs!  These, 
but  a  few  years  since  colonies  of  Great  Britain,  are  now 
free,  sovereign,  and  independent  States,  and  now  celebrate 
the  anniversary  of  their  independence  in  the  very  city 
where,  but  a  day  or  two  before,  General  Howe  exhibited 
his  ridiculous  Champhaitre." 

Independence  Hall  remains  to-day  in  a  marvelous  state 
of  preservation.  At  the  great  Centennial  Exposition,  held 
to  celebrate  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  events  to 
which  we  have  alluded  in  this  chapter,  tens  of  thousands  of 
people  passed  through  the  room  in  which  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  was  signed,  and  gazed  with  mingled  feel- 
ings upon  the  historical  bell,  which,  although  it  had  long 
outlived  its  usefulness,  had  in  days  gone  by  done  such 
grand  proclaiming  of  noble  truth,  sentiment  and  action. 
Up  to  quite  a  recent  date,  justice  was  administered  in  the 
old  building,  but  most  of  the  courts  have  now  been  moved 


30  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

to  the  stately  structure  modern  Philadelphia  is  now  erect- 
ing at  the  cost  of  some  $16,000,000. 

Independence  Hall  and  Independence  Square  are  lov- 
ingly cared  for,  and  visitors  from  all  nations  are  careful  to 
include  them  both  in  their  tour  of  sight-seeing  while  in  this 
country.  Within  the  Hall  they  find  old  parchments  and 
Eighteenth  Century  curiosities  almost  without  number,  and 
antiquarians  find  sufficient  to  interest  and  amuse  them  for 
several  days  in  succession.  Every  lover  of  his  native  land, 
no  matter  what  tha-t  land  may  be,  raises  his  hat  in  reverence 
when  in  this  ancient  and  memory-inspiring  building,  and 
he  must  be  thoughtless,  indeed,  who  can  pass  through  it 
without  paying  at  least  a  mental  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
memories  of  the  men  who  were  present  at  the  birth  of  the 
greatest  nation  the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  who  secured 
for  the  people  of  the  United  States  absolute  liberty. 

The  illustration  of  the  interior  of  Independence  Hall 
on  page  17,  was  furnished  for  use  in  this  work  by  the 
National  Company  of  St.  Louis,  publishers  of  "Our  Own 
Country,"  a  large  work  descriptive  of  a  tour  through- 
out the  most  picturesque  sections  of  the  United  States. 
The  letter-press  in  "Our  Own  Country"  was  written  by 
the  author  of  this  work,  and  it  is  one  of  the  finest  tributes 
to  the  picturesqueness  of  America  that  has  ever  been  pub- 
lished. Other  illustrations  in  this  work  were  also  kindly 
supplied  by  the  same  publishing  .house. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE    WITCHES    OF    SALEM. 

A  Relic  of  Religious  Bigotry  —  Parson  Lawson's  Tirade  Against 
Witchcraft — Extraordinary  Court  Records  of  Old  Puritan  Days- 
Alleged  Supernatural  Conjuring — A  Man  and  his  Wife  both  put  to 
Death — Crushed  for  Refusing  to  Plead — A  Romance  of  the  Old  Days 
of  Witch  Persecution. 

BMONG  the  curiosities  of  New  England  shown  to 
tourists  and  visitors,  is  the  original  site  of  some  of 
the  extraordinary  trials  and  executions  for  witchcraft 
in  the  town  of  Salem,  now  known  as  Danvers,  Mass. 
Looking  back  upon  the  events  of  two  hundred  years  ago, 
the  prosecution  of  the  alleged  witches  appears  to  us  to 
have  been  persecution  of  the  most  infamous  type.  The 
only  justification  for  the  stern  Puritans  is  the  fact  that 
they  inherited  their  ideas  of  witchcraft  and  its  evils  from 
their  forefathers,  and  from  the  country  whence  most  of 
them  came. 

One  of  the  earliest  precepts  of  religious  bigotry  was, 
"Thou  shalt  not  allow  a  witch  to  live,"  and  from  time 
immemorial  witchcraft  appears  to  have  been  a  capital 
offense.  It  is  on  record  that  thousands  of  people  have, 
from  time  to  time,  been  legally  murdered  for  alleged  inter- 
course and  leaguing  with  the  Evil  One.  The  superstition 
seems  to  have  gained  force  rather  than  lost  it  by  the  spread 
of  early  Christianity.  As  a  rule,  the  victims  of  the  craze 
were  women,  and  the  percentage  of  aged  and  infirm  women 
was  always  very  large.  One  of  the  greatest  jurists  of 

(31) 


32  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

England,  during  the  Seventeenth  Century,  condemned  two 
young  girls  to  the  gallows  for  no  other  offense  than  the 
alleged  crime  of  having  exerted  a  baneful  influence  over 
certain  victims,  and  having,  what  would  be  called  in  certain 
districts,  "hoodooed"  them. 

In  Scotland  the  craze  was  carried  to  still  further 
lengths.  To  be  accused  of  witchcraft  was  to  be  con- 
demned as  a  matter  of  course,  and  the  terrible  death  of 
burning  at  the  stake  was  the  invariable  sentence.  Most 
of  the  victims  made  imaginary  confessions,  preferring  to 
die  at  once  than  to  be  tortured  indefinitely.  In  the  year 
1716,  a  wealthy  lady  and  her  nine-year-old  daughter  were 
hanged  for  witchcraft,  and  even  thirty  or  forty  years  later 
the  records  of  Great  Britain  are  sullied  by  another  similar 
case  of  persecution. 

These  unsavory  records  are  given  in  order  to  correct  a 
misapprehension  as  to  the  part  the  old  Puritans  took  in  the 
persecutions.  Many  people  seriously  believed  that  the  idea 
of  witchcraft,  as  a  capital  offense,  originated  in  Salem,  and 
attribute  to  the  original  witch-house  the  reputation  of 
having  really  given  birth  to  a  new  superstition  and  a  new 
persecution.  As  we  have  seen,  this  is  entirely  erroneous. 
The  fact  that  the  Puritans  copied  a  bad  example,  instead  of 
setting  a  new  one,  should,  at  least,  be  remembered  in 
palliation  of  the  unfortunate  blot  upon  their  otherwise 
clean  escutcheon. 

In  the  year  1704,  one  Deodat  Lawson,  minister  at 
Salem  during  the  last  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  the 
Seventeenth  Century,  published  a  remarkable  work,  entitled 
"Christ's  Fidelity,  the  only  Shield  against  Satan's  Malig- 
nity." In  this  work  appears  a  record  of  the  so-called 
calamity  at  Salem,  which  the  author  tells  us  was  afflicted, 


THE   WITCHES  OF  SALEM.  33 

about  the  year  1692,  "with  a  very  sore  and  grievous  inflic- 
tion, in  which  they  had  reason  to  believe  that  the  Sovereign 
and  Holy  God  was  pleased  to  permit  Satan  and  his  instru- 
ments to  affright  and  afflict  those  poor  mortals  in  such  an 
astonishing  and  unusual  manner." 

The  record  of  Parson  Lawson  is  so  realistic  and  em- 
blematic of  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  that  we  repro- 
duce some  of  his  own  expressions.  Thus,  he  says,  "Now, 
I  having  for  some  time  before  attended  the  work  of  the 
Ministry  in  Salem  Village,  the  report  of  those  great  afflic- 
tions came  quickly  to  niy  notice,  the  more  so,  because  the 
first  person  afflicted  was  in  the  minister's  family,  who 
succeeded  me  after  I  was  removed  from  them.  In  pity, 
therefore,  to  my  Christian  friends  and  former  acquaintance 
there,  I  was  much  concerned  about  them,  frequently  con- 
sulted with  them,  and  (by  Divine  assistance)  prayed  for 
them ;  but  especially  my  concern  was  augmented  when  it 
was  reported  at  an  examination  of  a  person  suspected 
for  witchcraft,  that  my  wife  and  daughter,  who  died  three 
years  before,  were  sent  out  of  the  world  under  the 
malicious  operations  of  the  infernal  powers,  as  is  more 
fully  represented  in  the  following  remarks.  I  did  then 
desire,  and  was  also  desired  by  some  concerned  in  the 
court,  to  be  there  present  that  I  might  hear  what  was 
alleged  in  that  respect,  observing,  therefore,  when  I  was 
amongst  them,  that  the  case  of  the  afflicted  was  very 
amazing  and  deplorable,  and  the  charges  brought  against 
the  accused  such  as  were  grounds  of  suspicion,  yet  very 
intricate  and  difficult  to  draw  up  right  conclusions  about 
them.  They  affirmed  that  they  saw  the  ghosts  of  several 
departed  persons,  who,  at  their  appearing,  did  instigate 
them  to  discover  such  as  (they  said)  were  instruments  to 


34  MY  NATIVE  LAXD. 

hasten  their  death,  threatening  sorely  to  afflict  them  if  they 
did  not  make  it  known  to  the  magistrates. 

"They  did  affirm  at  the  examination,  and  again  at  the 
trial  of  an  accused  person,  that  they  saw  the  ghosts  of  his 
two  wives  (to  whom  he  had  acted  very  ill  in  their  lives,  as 
was  proved  by  several  testimonies),  and  also  that  they  saw 
the  ghosts  of  my  wife  and  daughter  (who  died  above  three 
years  before),  and  they  did  affirm  that  when  the  very 
ghosts  looked  on  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  they  looked  red, 
as  if  the  blood  would  fly  out  of  their  faces  with  indignation 
at  him.  The  manner  of  it  was  thus :  Several  afflicted 
being  before  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  on  a  sudden  they  fixed 
all  their  eyes  together  on  a  certain  place  on  the  floor  before 
the  prisoner,  neither  moving  their  eyes  nor  bodies  for  some 
few  minutes,  nor  answering  to  any  question  which  was 
asked  them.  So  soon  as  that  trance  was  over,  some  being 
out  of  sight  and  hearing,  they  were  all,  one  after  another, 
asked  what  they  saw,  and  they  did  all  agree  that  they  saw 
those  ghosts  above  mentioned.  I  was  present  and  heard 
and  saw  the  whole  of  what  passed  upon  that  account 
during  the  trial  of  that  person  who  was  accused  to  be  the 
instrument  of  Satan's  malice  therein. 

"Sundry  pins  have  been  taken  out  the  wrists  and  arms 
of  the  afflicted,  and  .one,  in  time  of  examination  of  a 
suspected  person,  had  a  pin  run  through  both  her  upper 
and  lower  lip  when  she  was  called  to  speak,  yet  no  appar- 
ent festering  followed  thereupon  after  it  was  taken  out. 
Some  of  the  afflicted,  as  they  were  striving  in  their  fits  in 
open  court,  have  (by  invisible  means)  had  their  wrists 
bound  together  with  a  real  cord,  so  as  it  could  hardly  be 
taken  off  without  cutting.  Some  afflicted  have  been  found 

O 

with  their  arms  tied  and  hanged  upon  a  hook,  from  whence 


Tomb  of  General  Grant,  Riverside  Park,  New  York. 


THE    WITCHES  OF  SALEM.  37 

others  have  been  forced  to  take  them  down,  that  they 
might  not  expire  in  that  posture.  Some  afflicted  have 
been  drawn  under  tables  and  beds  by  undiscerned  force,  so 
as  they  could  hardly  be  pulled  out.  And  one  was  drawn 
half  way  over  the  side  of  a  well,  and  with  much  difficulty 
recovered  back  again.  When  they  were  most  grievously 
afflicted,  if  they  were  brought  to  the  accused,  and  the 
suspected  person's  hand  but  laid  upon  them,  they  were 
immediately  relieved  out  of  their  tortures;  but  if  the 
accused  did  but  look  on  them,  they  were  immediately 
struck  down  again.  Wherefore,  they  used  to  cover  the 
face  of  the  accused  while  they  laid  their  hands  on  the 
amieted,  and  then  it  obtained  the  desired  issue.  For  it 
hath  been  experienced  (both  in  examinations  and  trials) 
that  so  soon  as  the  afflicted  came  in  sight  of  the  accused, 
they  were  immediately  cast  into  their  fits.  Yea,  though 
the  accused  were  among  the  crowd  of  people,  unknown  to 
the  sufferers,  yet  on  the  first  view  they  were  struck  down ; 
which  was  observed  in  a  child  of  four  or  five  years  of  age, 
when  it  was  apprehended  that  so  many  as  she  would  look 
upon,  either  directly  or  by  turning  her  head,  were  immedi- 
ately struck  into  their  fits. 

"An  iron  spindle  of  a  woolen  wheel,  being  taken  very 
strangely  out  of  an  house  at  Salem  Village,  was  used  by  a 
spectre  as  an  instrument  of  torture  to  a  sufferer,  not  being 
discernible  to  the  standers  by  until  it  was  by  the  said 
sufferer  snatched  out  of  the  spectre's  hand,  and  then  it 
did  immediately  appear  to  the  persons  present  to  be  really 
the  same  iron  spindle. 

"Sometimes,  in  their  fits,  they  have  had  their  tongues 
drawn  out  of  their  mouths  to  a  fearful  length,  their  heads 
turned  very  much  over  their  shoulders,  and  while  they 


38  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

have  been  so  strained  in  their  fits,  and  had  their  arms  and 
legs,  etc.,  wrested  as  if  they  were  quite  dislocated,  the 
blood  hath  gushed  plentifully  out  of  their  mouths  for  a 
considerable  time  together ;  which  some,  that  they  might 
be  satisfied  that  it  was  real  blood,  took  upon  their  finger 
and  rubbed  on  their  other  hand.  I  saw  several  together 
thus  violently  strained  and  bleeding  in  their  fits,  to  my 
very  great  astonishment  that  my  fellow  mortals  should  be 
so  grievously  distressed  by  the  invisible  powers  of  dark- 
ness. For  certainly  all  considerate  persons  who  beheld 
these  things  must  needs  be  convinced  their  motions  in 
their  fits  were  preternatural  and  involuntary,  both  as  to 
the  manner,  which  was  so  strange,  as  a  well  person  could 
not  (at  least  without  great  pain)  screw  their  bodies  into; 
and  as  to  the  violence,  also,  they  were  preternatural 
motions,  being  much  beyond  the  ordinary  force  of  the 
same  persons  when  they  were  in  their  right  minds.  So 
that,  being  such  grievous  sufferers,  it  would  seem  very 
hard  and  unjust  to  censure  them  of  consenting  to  or  hold- 
ing any  voluntary  converse  or  familiarity  with  the  devil. 

"Some  of  them  were  asked  how  it  came  to  pass  that 
they  were  not  affrighted  when  they  saw  the  Black-man. 
They  said  they  were  at  first,  but  not  so  much  afterwards. 
Some  of  them  affirmed  they  saw  the  Black-man  sit  on  the 
gallows,  and  that  he  whispered  in  the  ears  of  some  of  the 
condemned  persons  when  they  were  just  ready  to  be  turned 
off — even  while  they  were  making  their  last  speech. 

1  'Some  of  them  have  sundry  times  seen  a  White-man 
appearing  among  the  spectres,  and  as  soon  as  he  appeared, 
the  Black- Witches  vanished;  they  said  this  White-man 
had  often  foretold  them  what  respite  they  should  have 
from  their  fits;  as,  sometimes,  a  day  or  two  or  more, 


THE   WITCHES  OF  SALEM.  39 

which  fell  out  accordingly.  One  of  the  afflicted  said  she 
saw  him  in  her  fit,  and  was  with  him  in  a  glorious  place, 
which  had  no  candle  or  sun,  yet  was  full  of  light  and 
brightness,  where  there  was  a  multitude  in  'white,  glitter- 
ing robes,'  and  they  sang  the  song  in  Rev.  v,  9.  She  was 
loth  to  leave  that  place  and  said:  'How  long  shall  I  stay 
here?  Let  me  be  along  with  you.'  She  was  grieved  she 
oould  stay  no  longer  in  that  place  and  company. 

"A  young  woman  that  was  afflicted  at  a  fearful  rate 
had  a  spectre  appear  to  her  with  a  white  sheet  wrapped 
about  it,  not  visible  to  the  standers  by,  until  this  sufferer 
(violently  striving  in  her  fit)  snatched  at,  took  hold  and 
tore  off  the  corner  of  that  sheet.  Her  father,  being  by 
her,  endeavored  to  lay  hold  of  it  with  her,  that  she  might 
retain  what  she  had  gotten ;  but  at  the  passing  away  of  the 
spectre,  he  had  such  a  violent  twitch  of  his  hand  as  it 
would  have  been  torn  off.  Immediately  thereupon  appeared 
in  the  sufferer's  hand  the  corner  of  a  sheet,  a  real  cloth, 
visible  to  the  spectators,  which  (as  it  is  said)  remains  still 
to  be  seen." 

It  was  proved,  the  records  of  the  time  continue,  by 
substantial  evidences  against  one  person  accused,  that  he 
had  such  an  unusual  strength  (though  a  very  little  man) 
that  he  could  hold  out  a  gun  with  one  hand,  behind  the 
lock,  which  was  near  seven  foot  in  the  barrel,  being  such 
.as  a  lusty  man  could  command  with  both  hands,  after  the 
usual  manner  of  shooting.  It  was  also  proved  that  he 
lifted  barrels  of  metal  and  barrels  of  molasses  out  of  a 
€anoe  alone;  and  that,  putting  his  fingers  into  a  barrel  of 
molasses,  full  within  a  finger's  length,  according  to  custom, 
he  carried  it  several  paces.  And  that  he  put  his  finger 
into  the  muzzle  of  a  gun  which  was  more  than  five  foot  in 


40  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

the  barrel,  and  lifted  up  the  butt  end  thereof,  lock,  stock 
and  all,  without  any  visible  help  to  raise  it.  It  was  also 
testified  that,  being  abroad  with  his  wife  and  his  wife's 
brother,  he  occasionally  stayed  behind,  letting  his  wife  and 
her  brother  walk  forward;  but,  suddenly  coming  up  with 
them,  he  was  angry  with  his  wife  for  what  discourse  had 
passed  betwixt  her  and  her  brother.  They  wondering  how 
he  should  know  it,  he  said:  "I  know  your  thoughts,"  at 
which  expression  they,  being  amazed,  asked  him  how  he 
could  do  that,  he  said:  "My  God  whom  I  serve  makes- 
known  your  thoughts  to  me." 

Some  affirmed  that  there  were  some  hundreds  of  the 
society  of  witches,  considerable  companies  of  whom  were 
affirmed  to  muster  in  arms  by  beat  of  drum.  In  time  of 
examinations  and  trials,  they  declared  that  such  a  man  was- 
wont  to  call  them  together  from  all  quarters  to  witch- 
meetings,  with  the  sound  of  a  diabolical  trumpet. 

Being  brought  to  see  the  prisoners  at  the  bar,  upon  their 
trials,  they  swore,  in  open  court,  that  they  had  oftentimes 
seen  them  at  witch  meetings,  "where  was  feasting,  dan- 
cing and  jollity,  as  also  at  devil  sacraments,  and  particularly 
that  they  saw  such  a  man  amongst  the  accursed  crew, 
and  affirming  that  he  did  minister  the  sacrament  of  Satan 
to  them,  encouraging  them  to  go  on  in  their  way,  and  that 
they  should  certainly  prevail.  They  said,  also,  that  such  a 
woman  was  a  deacon  and  served  in  distributing  the  diaboli- 
cal element.  They  affirmed  that  there  were  great  numbers- 
of  the  witches." 

With  such  sentiments  as  these  prevailing,  it  is  not  at 
all  remarkable  that  the  alleged  witches  were  treated  with 
continual  and  conspicuous  brutality.  One  old  lady  of 
sixty,  named  Sarah  Osburn,  was  hounded  to  death  for 


THE   WITCHES  OF  SALEM.  41 

being  a  witch.  The  poor  old  lady,  who  was  in  fairly  good 
circumstances,  and  appears  to  have  been  of  good  character, 
was  put  upon  her  trial  for  witchcraft.  For  three  days, 
more  or  less  ridiculous  testimony  was  given  against  her, 
and  a  number  of  little  children,  who  had  evidently  been 
carefully  coached,  stated  upon  the  stand  that  Mrs.  Osburn 
had  bewitched  them.  She  was  called  upon  by  the  court 
to  confess,  which  she  declined  to  do,  stating  that  she  was 
rather  a  victim  than  a  criminal.  She  was  sent  to  jail,  and 
treated  with  so  much  brutality  that  she  died  before  it  was 
possible  to  execute  her  in  the  regulation  manner. 

Bridget  Bishop  was  another  of  the  numerous  victims. 
The  usual  charges  were  brought  against  her,  and  she  was 
speedily  condemned  to  death.  Before  the  sentence  was 
executed,  the  custom  of  taking  council  with  the  local 
clergy  was  followed.  These  good  men,  while  they  coun- 
seled caution  in  accepting  testimony,  humbly  recommended 
the  government  to  the  speedy  and  vigorous  prosecution  of 
such  as  "had  rendered  themselves  obnoxious  by  infringing 
the  wholesome  statutes  of  the  English  Nation  for  the 
detection  of  witchcraft."  Following  this  recommendation, 
double  and  treble  hangings  took  place,  and  there  was 
enough  brutality  to  appease  the  appetite  of  the  most 
vindictive  and  malicious. 

Perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  record  of  witchcraft 
persecution  at  the  end  of  the  Seventeenth  Century  was 
that  of  Giles  Corey  and  his  wife  Martha.  The  singular 
feature  of  the  ease  is,  that  the  husband  had  been  one  of 
the  most  enthusiastic  declaimers  against  the  unholy  crime 
of  witchcraft,  while  his  good  wife  had  been  rather  disposed 
to  ridicule  the  idea,  and  to  condemn  the  prosecutions  as 
persecutions.  She  did  her  best  to  prevent  Giles  from 


42  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

attending  trials,  and  one  of  the  most  serious  charges 
against  her  was  that  on  one  occasion  she  hid  the  family 
saddle,  so  as  to  prevent  her  lord  and  master  from  riding 
to  one  of  the  examinations. 

This  attempt  to  assert  woman's  rights  two  hundred 
years  ago  was  resented  very  bitterly,  and  two  enthusiastic 
witch-hunters  were  sent  to  her  house  to  entrap  her  into  a 
confession.  On  the  way  they  made  inquiries,  which 
resulted  in  their  being  able  to  patch  up  a  charge  against 
the  woman  for  walking  in  ghostly  attire  during  the  night. 
When  the  detectives  called  at  the  house  she  told  them  she 
knew  the  object  of  their  visit,  but  that  she  was  no  witch, 
and  did  not  believe  there  was  such  a  thing.  The  mere 
fact  of  her  knowing  the  object  of  their  visit  was  regarded 
as  conclusive  evidence  against  her,  although  a  fair-minded 
person  would  naturally  suggest  that,  in  view  of  local  senti- 
ment, her  guess  was  a  very  easy  one.  The  poor  woman 
was  immediately  arrested  and  placed  on  trial.  Several 
little  children  were  examined,  and  these  shouted  out  in  the 
witness-stand,  that  when  the  afflicted  woman  bit  her  lip  in 
her  grief,  they  were  seized  with  bodily  pains,  which  con- 
tinued until  she  loosened  her  teeth.  The  chronicles  of  the 
court  tell  us,  with  much  solemnity,  that  when  the 
woman's  hands  were  tied  her  victims  did  not  suffer,  but 
the  moment  the  cords  were  removed  they  had  fits. 

Even  her  husband  was  called  as  a  witness  against  her. 
His  evidence  does  not  appear  to  have  been  very  important 
or  relevant.  But  another  witness,  a  Mrs.  Pope,  who 
appears  to  have  been  an  expert  in  the»e  matters,  and  to- 
have  been  called  at  nearly  every  trial,  took  off  her  shoe  in 
court  and  threw  it  at  the  prisoner's  head,  an  act  of  inde- 
corum which  was  condoned  on  the  ground  of  the  evident 


THE   WITCHES  OF  SALEM.  43 

sincerity  of  the  culprit.  The  poor  woman  was  condemned, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  ani  when  she  was  removed  to  jail,  a 
deputation  from  the  church  of  which  she  was  a  member 
called  upon  her  and  excommunicated  her.  She  mounted 
the  ladder  which  led  to  the  gallows  with  much  dignity, 
and  died  without  any  attempt  to  prolong  her  life  by  a  con- 
fession. 

The  fate  of  her  husband  was  still  more  terrible.  Not- 
withstanding his  zeal,  and  the  fact  that  he  had  given 
evidence  against  his  own  wife,  he  was  arrested,  charged 
with  a  similar  offense.  Whether  hypnotic  influences  were 
exerted,  or  whether  the  examining  justices  merely  imag- 
ined things  against  the  prisoner,  cannot  be  known  at  this 
time.  The  court  records,  however,  state  that  while  the 
witnesses  were  on  the  stand,  they  were  so  badly  afflicted 
with  fits  and  hurts,  that  the  prisoner's  hands  had  to  be  tied 
before  they  could  continue  their  testimony.  Unlike  his 
wife,  the  poor  man  did  not  deny  the  existence  of  witch- 
craft, and  merely  whined  out,  in  reply  to  the  magistrate's 
censure,  that  he  was  a  poor  creature  and  could  not  help  it. 
The  evidence  against  him  was  very  slight,  indeed,  and  he 
was  remanded  to  jail,  where  he  lay  unmolested,  and 
apparently  forgotten,  for  five  or  six  months. 

He  was  then  excommunicated  by  his  church,  and  brought 
before  the  court  again.  Sojourn  in  jail  seems  to  have  made 
the  old  man  stubborn,  for  when  he  was  once  more  con- 
fronted by  his  persecutors  he  declined  to  plead,  on  the 
ground  that  there  was  no  charge  against  him.  An  old 
obsolete  English  law  was  revived  against  him,  and  the  terri- 
ble sentence  was  pronounced  that  for  standing  mute  he  be 
remanded  to  the  prison  from  whence  he  came  and  put  into 
a  low,  dark  chamber.  There  he  was  to  be  laid  on  his  back, 


44  MY  NATIVE  LAXD. 

on  the  bare  floor,  without  clothing.  As  great  a  weight  of 
iron  as  he  could  bear  was  to  be  placed  upon  his  body,  and 
there  to  remain.  The  first  day  he  was  to  have  three  morsels 
of  bread,  and  on  the  second  day  three  draughts  of  water,  to 
be  selected  from  the  nearest  pool  that  could  be  found. 
Thus  was  the  diet  to  be  alternated,  day  by  day,  until  he 
either  answered  his  accusation  or  died. 

On  September  19th,  1692,  death  came  as  a  happy  relief 
to  the  miserable  man,  who  had  begged  the  sheriff  to  add 
greater  weights  so  as  to  expedite  the  end.  This  is  the  only 
case  on  record  of  a  man  having  been  "pressed  to  death" 
in  New  England  for  refusing  to  plead,  or  for  any  other 
offense.  There  are  a  few  cases  on  record  where  this  in- 
human law  was  enforced  previously  in  England,  but  it  was 
always  regarded  as  a  relic  of  mediaeval  barbarity,  and  the 
fact  that  it  was  revived  in  the  witch  persecutions  is  a  very 
significant  one.  After  his  death,  an  attempt  was  made  to 
justify  the  act  by  the  statement  that  Corey  himself  had 
pressed  a  man  to  death.  This  justification  appears  feeble, 
and  to  be  without  any  corroborative  testimony. 

Another  very  remarkable  witch  story  has  about  it  a 
tinge  of  romance,  although  the  main  facts  actually  occurred 
as  stated.  A  sailor  named  Orcutt,  left  his  sweetheart  on 
one  of  his  regular  voyages,  promising  to  return  at  an  early 
date  to  claim  his  bride.  The  girl  he  left  behind  him,  whose 
name  was  Margaret,  appears  to  have  been  a  very  attractive, 
innocent  young  lady,  who  suffered  considerably  from  the 
jealousy  of  a  rival.  Soon  after  the  departure  of  her  lover, 
the  witch  difficulty  arose,  and  the  young  girl  was  much 
worried  and  grieved  at  what  happened.  On  one  occasion 
she  happened  to  say  to  a  friend  that  she  was  sorry  for  the 
unfortunate  witches  who  were  to  be  hanged  on  the  follow- 


THE   WITCHES  OF  SALEM.  45 

ing  day.  The  friend  appears  to  have  been  an  enemy  in 
disguise,  and,  turning  to  Margaret,  told  her  that  if  she 
talked  that  way  she  would  herself  be  tried  as  a  witch. 
As  an  evidence  of  how  vindictive  justice  was  at  this  time, 
the  poor  girl  was  arrested  by  the  sheriff  on  the  following 
day,  in  the  name  of  the  King  and  Queen,  on  a  charge  of 
witchcraft.  The  young  girl  was  led  through  the  streets 
and  jeered  at  by  the  crowd.  Arrived  at  the  court,  her 
alleged  friend  gave  a  variety  of  testimony  against  her.  The 
usual  stories  about  aches  and  pains  were  of  course  told. 
Some  other  details  were  added.  Thus,  Margaret  by  look- 
ing at  a  number  of  hens  had  killed  them.  She  had  also 
been  seen  running  around  at  night  in  spectral  attire.  The 
poor  girl  fainted  in  the  dock,  and  this  was  regarded  as  a 
chastisement  from  above,  and  as  direct  evidence  of  her 
guilt.  She  was  removed  to  the  jail,  where  she  had  to  lie  on 
a  hard  bench,  only  to  be  dragged  back  into  court  the 
following  day,  to  be  asked  a  number  of  outrageous 
questions. 

With  sobs  she  protested  her  innocence,  but  as  she  did 
so,  the  witnesses  against  her  called  out  that  they  were  in 
torment,  and  that  the  very  motion  of  the  girl's  lips  caused 
them  terrible  pain.  She  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged  with 
eight  other  alleged  witches  two  days  later,  and  was  carried 
back,  fainting,  to  her  cell.  In  a  few  minutes  the  girl  was 
delirious,  and  began  to  talk  about  her  lover,  and  of  her 
future  prospects.  Even  her  sister  was  not  allowed  to 
remain  with  her  during  the  night,  and  the  frail  young 
creature  was  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  heartless  jailors. 

A  few  hours  before  the  time  set  for  execution,  young 
Orcutt  sailed  into  the  harbor,  and  before  daybreak  he  was 
at  the  house.  Here  he  learned  for  the  first  time  the  awful 


46  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

calamity  which  had  befallen  his  sweetheart  in  his  absence. 
At  7  o'clock  he  was  allowed  to  enter  the  jail,  with  the 
convicted  girl's  sister.  At  the  prison  door  they  were 
informed  that  the  wicked  girl  had  died  during  the  night. 
Knowing  that  there  was  no  hope  under  any  circumstances 
of  the  sentence  being  remitted,  the  bereaved  ones  regarded 
the  news  as  good,  and  although  they  broke  down  with  grief 
at  the  shipwreck  of  their  lives,  they  both  realized  that,  to 
use  the  devout  words  of  the  victim's  sister,  "The  Lord  had 
delivered  her  from  the  hands  of  her  enemies." 

The  record  of  brutality  in  connection  with  the  witch 
agitation  might  be  continued  almost  without  limit,  for  the 
number  of  victims  was  very  great.  Visitors  to  Danvers 
to-day  are  often  shown  by  local  guides  where  some  of  the 
tragedies  of  the  persecution  were  committed.  The  supersti- 
tion was  finally  driven  away  by  educational  enlightenment, 
and  it  seems  astounding;  that  it  lasted  as  Ions:  as  it  did. 

,  O  O 

Two  hundred  years  have  nearly  elapsed  since  the  craze  died 
out,  and  it  is  but  charitable  to  admit,  that  although  many 
of  the  witnesses  must  have  been  corrupt  and  perjured,  the 
majority  of  those  connected  with  the  cases  were  thoroughly 
in  earnest,  and  that  although  they  rejoiced  at  the  undoing 
of  the  ungodly,  they  regretted  very  much  being  made  the 
instruments  of  that  undoing. 


CHAPTEK  III. 

IN    PICTURESQUE    NEW   YORK. 

Some  Local  Errors  Corrected  —  A  Trip  Down  the  Hudson  River  —  The 
Last  of  the  Mohicans—  The  Home  of  Rip  Van  Winkle—  The  Ladies 
of  Vassar  and  their  Home  —  West  Point  and  its  History  —  Sing  Sing 
Prison  —  The  Falls  of  Niagara  —  Indians  in  New  York  State. 


in  the  older  States  of  the  East  are 
frequently  twitted  with  their  ignorance  concern- 
ing the  newer  States  of  the  West,  and  of  the  habits  and 
customs  of  those  who,  having  taken  Horace  Greeley's 
advice  at  various  times,  turned  their  faces  toward  the 
setting  sun,  determined  to  take  advantage  of  the  fertility 
of  the  soil,  and  grow  up  with  the  country  of  which  they 
knew  but  little. 

It  needs  but  a  few  days'  sojourn  in  an  Eastern  city  by 
a  Western  man  to  realize  how  sublimely  ignorant  the  New 
Englander  is  concerning  at  least  three-fourths  of  his  native 
land,  The  writer  was,  on  a  recent  occasion,  asked,  in  an 
Eastern  city,  how  he  managed  to  get  along  without  any  of 
the  comforts  of  civilization,  and  whether  he  did  not  find  it 
necessary  to  order  all  of  his  clothing  and  comforts  by  mail 
from  the  East.  When  he  replied  that  in  the  larger  cities, 
at  any  rate,  of  the  West,  there  were  retail  emporiums  fully 
up  to  date  in  all  matters  of  fashion  and  improvement,  and 
caterers  who  could  supply  the  latest  delicacies  in  season 
at  reasonable  prices,  an  incredulous  smile  was  the  result, 

(47) 


48  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

and  regret  was  expressed  that  local  prejudice  and  pride 
should  so  blind  a  man  to  the  actual  truth. 

Yet  there  was  no  exaggeration  whatever  in  the  reply, 
as  the  experienced  traveler  knows  well.  Neither  Chicago 
nor  St.  Louis  are  really  in  the  West,  so  far  as  points  of 
the  compass  are  concerned,  both  of  these  cities  being 
hundreds  of  miles  east  of  the  geographical  center  of  the 
United  States.  But  they  are  both  spoken  of  as  "out 
West,"  and  are  included  in  the  territory  in  which  the 
extreme  Eastern  man  is  apt  to  think  people  live  on  the 
coarsest  fare,  and  clothe  themselves  in  the  roughest  possi- 
ble manner.  Yet  the  impartial  and  disinterested  New 
York  or  Boston  man  who  visits  either  of  these  cities  speed- 
ily admits  that  he  frequently  finds  it  difficult  to  believe 
that  he  is  not  in  his  own  much  loved  city,  so  close  is  the 
resemblance  in  many  respects  between  the  business  houses 
and  the  method  of  doing  business.  Denver  is  looked  upon 
by  the  average  Easterner  almost  in  the  light  of  a  frontier 
€ity,  away  out  in  the  Rockies,  surrounded  by  awe-inspiring 
scenery,  no  doubt,  but  also  by  grizzly  bears  and  ferocious 
Indians.  San  Francisco  is  too  far  away  to  be  thought  ot 
very  intelligently,  but  a  great  many  people  regard  that 
home  of  wealth  and  elegance  as  another  extreme  Western 
die-in-your-boots,  rough-and-tumble  city. 

This  ignorance,  for  it  is  ignorance  rather  than  preju- 
dice, results  from  the  mania  for  European  travel,  which 
was  formerly  a  characteristic  of  the  Atlantic  States,  but 
which  of  recent  years  has,  like  civilization,  traveled  West. 
The  Eastern  man  who  has  made  money  is  much  more  likely 
to  take  his  family  on  a  European  tour  than  on  a  trip 
through  his  native  country.  He  incurs  more  expense  by 
crossing  the  Atlantic,  and  although  he  adds  to  his  store  of 


IN  PICTURESQUE   NEW  YORK.          49 

knowledge  by  traveling,  he  does  not  learn  matter  of  equal 
importance  to  him  as  if  he  had  crossed  the  American 
continent  and  enlightened  himself  as  to  the  men  and 
manners  in  its  different  sections  and  States. 

Nor  is  this  sectional  ignorance  confined,  by  any  means, 
to  the  East.  People  in  the  West  are  apt  to  form  an 
entirely  erroneous  impression  of  Eastern  States.  The 
word,  "East,"  to  them  conveys  an  impression  of  dense 
population,  overcrowding,  and  manufacturing  activity. 
That  there  are  thousands  and  thousands  of  acres  of  scenic 
grandeur,  as  well  as  farm  lands,  in  some  of  the  most 
crowded  States,  is  not  realized,  and  that  this  is  the  case 
will  be  news  to  many.  Last  year  a  party  of  Western 
people  were  traveling  to  New  York,  and,  on  their  way,  ran 
through  Pennsylvania,  around  the  picturesque  Horse  Shoe 
Curve-  in  the  Alleghenies,  and  along  the  banks  of  the 
romantic  and  historic  Susquehanna.  A  member  of  the 
party  was  seen  to  be  wrapped  in  thought  for  a  long  time. 
He  was  finally  asked  what  was  worrying  him. 

"I  was  thinking,'/  was  his  reply,  * 'how  singular  it  is 
that  the  Republican  party  ran  up  a  majority  of  something 
like  a  hundred  thousand  at  the  election,  and  I  was  wonder- 
ing where  all  the  folks  came  from  who  did  the  voting.  I 
haven't  seen  a  dozen  houses  in  the  last  hour." 

Our  friend  was  only  putting  into  expression  the  thought 
which  was  indulged  in  pretty  generally  by  the  entire 
crowd.  Those  who  were  making  the  transcontinental  trip 
for  the  first  time  marveled  at  the  expanse  of  open  coun- 
try, and  the  exquisite  scenery  through  which  they  passed; 
and  they  were  wondering  how  they  ever  came  to  think  that 
the  noise  of  the  hammer  and  the  smoke  of  the  factory 
chimney  were  part  and  parcel  of  the  East,  where  they 


50  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

knew  the  money7  as  well  as  the  "wise  men,"  came  from. 
The  object  of  this  book  being  to  present  some  of  the 
prominent  features  of  all  sections  of  the  United  States,  it 
is  necessary  to  remove,  as  far  as  possible,  this  false  im- 
pression; and  in  order  to  do  so,  we  propose  to  give  a  brief 
description  of  the  romantic  and  historic  River  Hudson. 
This  river  runs  through  the  great  State  of  New  York, 
concerning  which  the  greatest  ignorance  prevails.  The 
State  itself  is  dwarfed,  in  common  estimation,  by  the 
magnitude  of  its  metropolis,  and  if  the  Greater  New  York 
project  is  carried  into  execution,  and  the  limits  of  New 
York  City  extended  so  as  to  take  in  Brooklyn  and  other 
adjoining  cities,  this  feeling  will  be  intensified,  rather  than 
otherwise. 

But  " above  the  Harlem,"  to  use  an  expression  so 
commonly  used  when  a  political  contest  is  on,  there  are 
thousands  of  square  miles  of  what  may  be  called  "coun- 
try," including  picturesque  mountains,  pine  lands  which 
are  not  susceptible  of  cultivation,  and  are  preserved  for 
recreation  and  pleasure  purposes,  and  fertile  valleys, 
divided  up  into  homesteads  and  farms. 

It  is  through  country  such  as  this  that  the  River 
Hudson  flows.  It  rises  in  the  Adirondack  Mountains, 
some  300  miles  from  the  sea,  and  more  than  4,000 
feet  above  its  level.  It  acts  as  a  feeder  and  outlet  for 
numerous  larger  and  smaller  lakes.  At  first  it  is  a 
pretty  little  brook,  almost  dry  in  summer,  but  noisy 
and  turbulent  in  the  rainy  seasons.  From  Schroon  Lake, 
near  Saratoga,  it  receives  such  a  large  quantity  of  water 
that  it  begins  to  put  on  airs.  It  ceases  to  be  a  country 
brook  and  becomes  a  small  river.  A  little  farther  down, 
the  bed  of  the  river  falls  suddenly,  producing  falls  of  much 


IN  PICTURESQUE  NEW  YORK.          51 

beauty,  which  vary  in  intensity  and  volume  with  the 
seasons. 

At  Glens  Falls  the  upper  Hudson  passes  through  a  long 
detilo,  over  a  precipice  some  hundred  feet  long.  It  was 
here  that  Cooper  received  much  of  his  inspiration,  and  one 
of  the  most  startling  incidents  in  his  "  The  Last  of  the 
Mohicans"  is  supposed  to  have  been  enacted  at  the  falls. 
Wlii-n  Troy  is  reached,  the  river  takes  upon  itself  quite 
another  aspect,  and  runs  with  singular  straightness  almost 
direct  to  New  York  harbor.  Tourists  delight  to  sail  up 
the  Hudson,  and  they  find  an  immense  quantity  of  scenery 
of  the  most  delightful  character,  with  fresh  discoveries  at 
every  trip.  Millionaires  regard  the  banks  of  the  Hudson 
as  the  most  suitable  spots  upon  which  to  build  country 
mansions  and  rural  retreats.  Many  of  these  mansions  are 
surrounded  by  exquisitely  kept  grounds  and  beautiful 
parterres,  which  are  in  themselves  well  worth  a  long 
journey  to  see. 

Beacon  Island,  a  few  miles  below  Albany,  is  pointed 
out  to  the  traveler  as  particularly  interesting,  because 
four  counties  corner  upon  the  river  just  across  from  it. 
The  island  has  a  history  of  more  than  ordinary  interest. 
It  used  to  be  presided  over  by  a  patroon,  who  levied  toll 
on  all  passing  vessels.  Right  in  the  neighborhood  are 
original  Dutch  settlements,  and  the  descendants  of  the 
original  immigrants  hold  themselves  quite  aloof  from  the 
English-speaking  public.  They  retain  the  1-anguage,  as 
well  as  the  manners  and  customs,  of  Holland,  and  the 
tourist  who  strays  among  them  finds  himself,  for  the 
moment,  distinctly  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  The 
country  abounds  with  legends  and  romances,  and  is  liter- 
ally honeycombed  with  historic  memories 


52  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

The  town  of  Hudson,  a  little  farther  down  the  river,  is 
interesting  because  it  was  near  here  that  Henry  Hudson 
landed  in  September,  1609.  He  was  immediately  sur- 
rounded by  Indians,  who  gave  him  an  immense  amount  of 
information,  and  added  to  his  store  of  experiences  quite  a 
number  of  novel  ones.  Here  is  the  mouth  of  the  Catskill 
River,  with  the  wonderful  Catskill  Mountains  in  the  rear. 
It  will  be  news,  indeed,  to  many  of  our  readers  that  in  these 
wild  (only  partially  explored)  mountains  there  are  forests 
where  bears,  wild  cats  and  snakes  abound  in  large 
numbers. 

Many  people  of  comparative  affluence  reside  in  the 
hills,  where  there  are  hotels  and  pleasure  resorts  of  the 
most  costly  character.  During  the  storms  of  winter  these 
lovers  of  the  picturesque  find  themselves  snowed  in  for 
several  days  at  the  cime,  and  have  a  little  experience  in 
the  way  of  frontier  and  exploration  life. 

The  sunrises  in  the  Catskills  are  rendered  uniquely 
beautiful  by  the  peculiar  formation  of  the  ground,  and 
from  the  same  reason  the  thunder  storms  are  often  thrill- 
ing in  character  and  awful  in  their  magnificence.  Water- 
falls of  all  sizes  and  kinds,  brooks,  with  scenery  along  the 
banks  of  every  description,  forests,  meadows,  and  lofty 
peaks  make  monotony  impossible,  and  give  to  the  Catskill 
region  an  air  of  majesty  which  is  not  easy  to  describe  on 
paper. 

Every  visitor  asks  to  be  shown  the  immortalized  bridge 
at  Sleepy  Hollow,  and  as  he  gazes  upon  it  he  thinks  of 
Washington  Irving' s  unrivaled  description  of  this  country. 
He  speedily  agrees  with  Irving  that  every  change  of 
weather,  and  indeed  every  hour  of  the  day,  produces  some 
change  in  the  magical  hues  and  shapes  of  these  mountains, 


A  Memory  of  Rip  Van  Winkle. 


IN  PICTURESQUE   NEW  YORK.  55 

and  they  are  regarded  by  all  the  good  wives  far  and  near 
as  perfect  barometers.  When  the  weather  is  fair  and 
settled  they  are  clothed  in  blue  and  purple,  and  print  their 
bold  outlines  on  the  clear  evening  sky,  but,  sometimes, 
when  the  rear  of  the  landscape  is  clear  and  cloudless,  they 
will  gather  a  hood  of  gray  vapors  which,  in  the  last  rays 
of  the  setting  sun,  will  grow  up  like  a  crown  of  glory. 

Here  it  was  that  Rip  Van  Winkle  is  supposed  to  have 
lived  and  slept,  and  astonished  his  old  friends  and  neigh- 
bors, and  their  descendants.  The  path  along  which  Rip 
Van  Winkle  marched  up  the  mountain,  prior  to  his  pro- 
longed sleep,  is  shown  to  the  tourist,  who  hears  at  his 
hotel,  in  the  conveyance  he  hires  for  the  day,  and  among 
the  very  mountains  themselves,  countless  local  legends  as 
to  Rip  Van  Winkle,  and  as  to  the  percentage  of  fact  and 
fiction  in  Washington  Irving' s  masterly  production. 

If  he  is  antiquarian  enough  to  desire  it,  he  can  be 
shown  the  very  spot  upon  which  Rip  Van  Winkle  laid  him- 
self down  to  sleep.  Local  opinion  differs  as  to  the  exact 
spot,  but  there  is  so  much  faith  displayed  by  the  people 
that  no  one  can  doubt  that  they  are  genuine  in  their  beliefs 
and  sincere  in  their  convictions.  The  tourist  can  also  be 
shown  the  site  of  the  old  country  inn,  upon  the  bench  in 
front  of  which  Rip  Van  Winkle  sat  and  astonished  the 
natives  by  his  extraordinary  conversation,  and  his  refusal 
to  believe  that  a  generation  had  elapsed  since  he  was  in 
the  town  last. 

The  chair  upon  which  Dame  Van  Winkle  is  supposed 
to  have  sat,  while  she  was  berating  her  idle  and  incorrigible 
lord  and  master,  is  also  shown  to  the  visitor,  and  the  more 
credulous  ones  gaze  with  interest  upon  a  flagon  which  they 
are  assured  is  the  very  one  out  of  which  Rip  Van  Winkle 

4 


56  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

drank.  The  only  thing  needed  to  complete  the  illusion  is 
the  appearance  of  the  old  dog,  which  the  man  who  had  so 
grievously  overslept  himself  was  sure  would  have  recog- 
nized him,  had  he  put  in  his  appearance. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  outlive  one's  welcome  in  the 
Catskill  Mountains,  or  to  wear  one's  self  out  with  sight 
seeing;  so  many  are  the  novelties  which  greet  the  gaze. 
The  Catskills  are  abounding  with  traditions  quite  as  inter- 
esting and  extraordinary  as  the  Rip  Van  Winkle  story. 
They  were  known  originally  as  the  "Mountains  of  the 
Sky,"  a  name  given  them  by  the  Indians,  who  for  so  many 
generations  held  them  in  undisputed  possession.  Hyde 
Peak,  the  loftiest  point  in  the  Catskills,  was  regarded  by 
the  Indians  as  the  throne  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  the 
Dutch  settlers  who  crowded  out  the  Indians  seem  to  have 
been  almost  as  generous  in  their  superstitions  and  legends. 
These  settlers  dropped  the  name,  " Mountains  of  the  Sky," 
and  adopted  the,  to  them,  more  euphonic  one  of  the 
Katzberg  Mountains,  from  which  the  more  modern  name 
has  been  adopted. 

The  village  of  Catskill  deserves  more  than  a  passing 
notice.  It  is  the  home  of  a  large  number  of  well-known 
people,  including  the  widows  of  many  men  whose  names 
are  famous  in  history.  The  old  Livingston  Manor  was 
located  near  the  village,  and  a  little  farther  down  is  Barry- 
town,  where  the  wealthy  Astors  have  a  palatial  summer 
resort.  A  little  farther  down  the  river  are  two  towns  with 
a  distinctly  ancient  and  Dutch  aspect.  They  were  settled 
by  the  Dutch  over  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  there  are 
many  houses  still  standing  which  were  built  last  century, 
so  strongly  did  our  forefathers  construct  their  homes,  and 
make  them  veritable  castles  and  impregnable  fortresses. 


IN  PICTURESQUE   NEW  YORK.  57 

Another  very  old  town  on  the  Hudson  is  the  celebrated 
seat  of  learning,  Poughkeepsie.  Of  this,  it  has  been  said 
that  there  is  more  tuition  to  the  square  inch  than  in  any 
other  town  in  the  world.  The  most  celebrated  of  the 
educational  institutions  at  this  point  is  the  Yassar  College, 
the  first  ladies'  seminary  in  the  world,  and  the  butt  of  so 
many  jokes  and  sarcasms.  Poughkeepsie  is  not  quite  as 
old  as  the  hills  above  it,  but  it  is  exceedingly  ancient. 
Here  was  held  the  celebrated  State  convention  for  the  rati- 
fication of  the  Federal  Constitution,  in  which  Alexander 
Hamilton,  Governor  Clinton,  and  John  Jay,  and  other  men 
of  immortal  names  took  part. 

It  is  only  comparatively  recently  that  the  first  stone 
building  erected  in  this  town  was  torn  down,. to  make  room 
for  improvements,  after  it  had  weathered  storm  and  time 
in  the  most  perfect  manner  for  more  than  a  century  and  a 
quarter.  At  Newburgh,  a  few  miles  farther  south,  an  old 
gray  mansion  is  pointed  out  to  the  visitor  as  Washing- 
ton's headquarters  on  several  occasions  during  the  Revolu- 
tion. Fortunately,  the  State  has  secured  possession  of  the 
house  and  protects  it  from  the  hands  of  the  vandal. 

This  wonderful  old  house  was  built  just  a  century  and 
a  half  ago.  A  hundred  and  twelve  years  ago  Washington's 
army  finally  disbanded  from  this  point,  and  the  visitor  can 
see  witn/n  the  well-preserved  walls  of  this  house  the 
historical  room,  with  its  seven  doors,  within  which  Wash- 
ington and  his  generals  held  their  numerous  conferences, 
and  in  which  there  are  still  to  be  found  almost  countless 
relics  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 

While  sailing  on  the  Hudson,  a  glimpse  is  obtained  of 
West  Point,  the  great  military  school  from  which  so  many 
of  America's  celebrated  generals  have  graduated.  West 


58  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

Point  commands  one  of  the  finest  river  passes  in  the 
country.  The  fort  and  chain  stretched  across  the  river 
were  captured  by  the  British  in  1777  (two  years  after  it 
was  decided  that  West  Point  should  be  established  a  mili- 
tary post),  but  were  abandoned  after  Burgoyne's  sur- 
render. The  Continental  forces  then  substituted  stronger 
works.  West  Point  thus  has  a  history  running  right  back 
to  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  the  ruins  of  Forts  Clinton 
and  Montgomery,  which  were  erected  in  1775,  are  in  the 
immediate  vicinity. 

There  are  176  rooms  in  the  cadet  barrack.  There  is 
no  attempt  at  ornamentation,  and  the  quarters  are  almost 
rigid  in  their  simplicity  and  lack  of  home  comfort.  Not 
only  are  the  embryo  warriors  taught  the  rudiments  of  drill 
and  warfare,  but  they  are  also  given  stern  lessons  in  camp 
life.  Each  young  man  acts  as  his  own  chambermaid,  and 
has  to  keep  his  little  room  absolutely  neat  and  free  from 
litter  and  dirt  of  any  kind. 

The  West  Point  Chapel  is  of  interest  on  account  of  the 
number  of  tablets  to  be  found  in  it,  immortalizing  many 
of  the  Revolutionary  heroes.  A  winding  road  leads  up  to 
the  cemetery,  where  are  resting  the  remains  of  many  other 
celebrated  generals,  including  Winfield  Scott.  The  State 
Camp  meets  annually  at  Peekskill,  another  very  ancient 
town,  replete  with  Revolutionary  War  reminiscences.  It 
was  settled  in  the  year  1764  by  a  Dutch  navigator,  from 
whom  it  takes  its  name.  Another  house  used  by  General 
Washington  for  headquarters  is  to  be  found  near 'the  town, 
as  well  as  St.  Peter's  Church,  in  which  the  Father  of  his 
Country  worshiped. 

Tarrytown  is  another  of  the  famous  spots  on  the 
Hudson.  Near  here  Washington  Irving  lived,  and  on  the 


IN  PICTURESQUE   NEW  YORK.  59 

old  Sleepy  Hollow  road  is  to  be  found  the  oldest  religious 
structure  in  New  York  State.  The  church  was  built  by 
the  Dutch  settlers  in  the  year  1699,  and  close  to  it  is  the 
cemetery  in  which  Washington  Irving  was  interred. 
Sunnyside,  Irving' s  home,  is  a  most  interesting  stone 
structure,  whose  numerous  gables  are  covered  with  ivy, 
the  immense  mass  of  which  has  grown  from  a  few  slips 
presented  to  Irving  by  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

A  sadder  sight  to  the  tourist  on  the  Hudson,  but  one 
which  is  of  necessity  full  of  interest,  is  the  Sing  Sing 
Prison,  just  below  Croton  Point.  In  this  great  State  jail 
an  army  of  convicts  are  kept  busy  manufacturing  various 
articles  of  domestic  use.  The  prison  itself  takes  its  name 
from  the  Indian  word  "  Ossining,"  which  means  "  stone 
upon  stone."  The  village  of  Sing  Sing,  strange  to  say, 
contains  many  charming  residences,  and  the  proximity  of 
the  State's  prison  does  not  seem  to  have  any  particular 
effect  on  the  spirits  and  the  ideas  of  those  living  in  it. 

Still  further  down  the  Hudson  is  Riverside  Park,  New 
York,  the  scene  of  General  Grant's  tomb,  which  overlooks 
the  lower  section  of  the  river,  concerning  which  we  have 
endeavored  to  impart  some  little  information  of  an  inter- 
esting character.  Of  the  tomb,  we  present  a  very  accurate 
illustration. 

While  in  New  York  State,  the  tourist,  whether  he  be 
American  or  European,  is  careful  to  pay  a  visit  to  the 
Niagara  Falls,  which  have  been  viewed  by  a  greater  number 
of  people  than  any  other  scene  or  wonder  on  the  American 
continent.  This  fact  is  due,  in  part,  to  the  admirable  rail- 
road facilities  which  bring  Niagara  within  easy  riding 
distance  of  the  great  cities  of  the  East.  It  is  also  due, 
very  largely,  to  the  extraordinary  nature  of  the  falls  them- 


60  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

selves,  and  to  the  grandeur  of  the  scene  which  greets  the 
eye  of  the  spectator. 

The  Eiver  Niagara  is  a  little  more  than  thirty-three 
miles  long.  In  its  short  course  it  takes  care  of  the  over- 
flow of  Lakes  Superior,  Michigan,  Huron  and  Erie,  and  as 
it  discharges  the  waters  of  these  lakes  into  Lake  Ontario, 
it  falls  334  feet,  or  more  than  ten  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  rapids  start  some  sixteen  miles  from  Lake  Erie. 
As  the  river  channel  suddenly  narrows,  the  velocity  of  the 
current  increases  with  great  abruptness.  The  rapids  are  but 
a  third  of  a  mile  in  length,  during  which  distance  there  is  a 
fall  of  fifty-two  feet.  The  boat  caught  in  these  rapids 
stands  but  a  poor  chance,  as  at  the  end  of  the  torrent  the 
water  dashes  down  a  cataract  over  150  feet  deep. 
The  Canadian  Fall  passes  over  a  rocky  ledge  of  immense 
area,  and  in  the  descent  leaves  a  space  with  a  watery  roof, 
the  space  being  known  as  the  "Cave  of  the  Winds, "  with 
an  entrance  from  the  Canadian  side.  The  Canadian  Fall 
has  a  sweep  of  1,100  feet  and  is  considerably  deeper  than 
the  other. 

It  is  little  more  than  a  waste  of  words  to  endeavor  to 
convey  an  impression  of  the  grandeur  and  magnificence  of 
Niagara.  People  have  visited  it  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  Monarchs  and  princes  have  acknowledged  that  it 
exceeded  their  wildest  expectation,  and  every  one  who  has 
gazed  upon  it  agrees  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  exag- 
gerate its  grandeur,  or  to  say  too  much  concerning  its 
magnitude.  Even  after  the  water  has  dashed  wildly  150 
feet  downwards,  the  descent  continues.  The  river  bed 
contracts  in  width  gradually,  for  seven  miles  below  the 
falls,  where  the  whirlpool  rapids  are  to  be  seen.  After 
the  second  fall,  the  river  seems  to  have  exhausted  its 


IN  PICTURESQUE   NEW  YORK.  61 

vehemence,  and  runs  more  deliberately,  cutting  its  channel 
deeper  into  the  rocky  bed,  and  dropping  its  sensational 
habits. 

Some  writers  have  hazarded  an  opinion  that,  as  time 
changes  all  things,  so  the  day  may  come  when  Niagara 
Falls  shall  cease  to  exist.  Improbable  as  this  idea  naturally 
sounds,  it  has  some  foundation  in  fact,  for  there  have  been 
marvelous  changes  in  the  falls  during  the  last  few  genera- 
tions. About  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  a  sketch 
was  taken  of  Niagara,  and  a  hundred  years  later  another 
artist  made  a  careful  and  apparently  accurate  picture. 
These  two  differ  from  one  another  materially,  and  they 
also  differ  greatly  from  the  appearance  of  the  falls  at  the 
present  time.  Both  of  the  old  pictures  show  a  third  fall 
on  the  Canadian  side.  It  is  known  that  about  a  hundred 
years  ago  several  immense  fragments  of  rock  were  broken 
off  the  rocky  ledge  on  the  American  side,  and,  more 
recently,  an  earthquake  affected  the  appearance  of  the 
Canadian  Fall.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  immense  corrosive 
action  of  the  water,  and  the  gradual  eating  away  of  the 
rock  on  both  the  ledge  and  basin,  has  had  the  effect  of 
changing  the  location  of  the  falls,  and  forcing  up  the  river 
in  the  direction  of  Lake  Erie.  Time  alone  can  decide  the 
momentous  question  as  to  whether  the  falls  will  eventually 
be  so  changed  in  appearance  as  to  be  beyond  recognition. 
The  lover  of  the  beautiful  and  grand,  and  more  especially 
the  antiquarian,  sincerely  trusts  that  no  such  calamity  will 
ever  take  place. 

The  history  of  the  Indians  in  New  York  State  is  a  very 
interesting  one.  Prior  to  the  discovery  of  America  by 
Columbus,  the  section  of  country  including  a  majority  of 
New  York  State  and  the  northern  portion  of  Pennsylvania, 


C2  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

was  occupied  by  the  Iroquois,  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onon- 
dagas,  Cayugas  and  Senecas.  These  formed  the  historical 
Five  Nations,  of  whom  writers  of  the  last  century  tell  us  so 
much  that  is  of  lasting  importance.  These  tribes  were 
self -governed,  their  rulers  being  selected  on  the  hereditary 
plan.  There  was  a  federal  union  between  them  for  pur- 
poses of  offense  and  defense,  and  they  called  themselves, 
collectively,  the  "People  of  the  Long  House."  This  imag- 
inary house  had  an  eastern  door  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mohawk  River,  and  u  western  door  at  the  Falls  of  Niagara. 

Bashfulness  was  not  a  characteristic  of  these  old-time 
red  men,  who  had  a  special  name  of  many  letters  for 
themselves,  which,  being  interpreted,  meant  "Men  sur- 
passing all  others."  They  trace  their  origin  from  the 
serpent-haired  God,  Atotarhon,  and  other  traditions  attrib- 
ute their  powers  of  confederation  and  alliance  to  the 
legendary  Hiawatha.  They  built  frame  cabins  and  defend- 
ed their  homes  with  much  skill.  Their  dress  was  chiefly 
made  out  of  deer  and  elk  hide,  and  relics  still  in  existence 
show  that  they  had  good  ideas  of  agriculture,  tanning, 
pottery,  and  even  carving.  They  were  about  12,000 
strong,  and  they  appear  to  have  been  the  most  powerful 
Indian  combination  prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  white  man. 

They  were  powerful  in  war  as  well  as  comparatively 
sensible  in  peace.  Their  religion  was,  at  least,  consistent, 
and  included  a  firm  belief  in  immortality.  They  maintained 
what  may  be  termed  civilized  family  relations,  and  treated 
their  women  with  proper  respect.  Their  conduct  towards 
the  white  men  was  much  more  friendly  than  might  have 
been  expected,  and  almost  from  the  first  they  displayed  a 
conciliatory  attitude,  and  entered  into  alliances  with  the 
newcomers.  They  fought  side  by  side  with  the  New 


PICTURESQUE   NEW  YORK.  63 

Englanders  against  the  French,  and  the  hostile  Indians 
who  allied  with  them,  and  in  the  year  1710,  five  of  their 
sachems  or  legislators  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  were 
received  with  honors  by  the  Queen  of  England.  In  diplo- 
macy they  did  not  prove  themselves  in  the  long  run  as 
skillful  as  the  newcomers,  who  by  degrees  secured  from 
them  the  land  over  which  they  had  previously  exercised 
sovereign  rights. 

The  survivors  of  these  Indians  have  not  sunk  to  as  low 
a  level  as  many  other  tribes  have  done.  It  is  not  generally 
known  in  the  West  that  there  are  on  the  New  York 
reservations,  at  the  present  time,  more  than  5,000  Indians, 
including  about  2,700  survivors  of  the  once  great  Seneca 
tribe. 

The  State  of  New  York  is  about  the  same  size  as  the 
Kingdom  of  England.  It  is  the  nineteenth  State  in  the 
Union  in  point  of  size,  possessing  area  of  more  than  49,000 
square  miles,  of  which  1,500  square  miles  is  covered  by 
water,  forming  portions  of  the  lakes.  Its  lake  coast  line 
extends  200  miles  on  Lake  Ontario  and  75  miles  on  Lake 
Erie.  Lake  Champlain  flows  along  the  eastern  frontier 
for  more  than  100  miles,  receiving  the  waters  of  Lake 
George,  which  has  been  described  as  the  Como  of  America. 
The  lake  has  a  singular  history.  It  was  originally  called 
by  the  French  Canadians  who  discovered  it,  the  "Lake  of 
the  Holy  Sacrament,"  and  it  was  the  scene  of  battles  and 
conflicts  for  over  a  hundred  years. 

The  capital  of  the  Empire  State,  with  its  population  of 
such  magnitude  that  it  exceeds  that  of  more  than  twenty 
important  foreign  nations,  is  Albany,  which  was  founded 
by  the  Dutch  in  1623,  and  which  has  since  earned  for  itself 
the  title  of  the  "Edinburgh  of  America."  Compared  with 


64  M Y  NATIVE  LAND. 

Nesv  York  City  it  is  dwarfed  in  point  of  population  and 
commercial  importance. 

Of  the  actual  metropolis  of  the  great  Empire  State  it  is 
impossible  to  speak  at  any  length  in  the  limited  space  at 
one's  command.  Of  New  York  itself,  Mr.  Chauncey  Depew 
said  recently,  in  his  forcible  manner,  "To-day,  in  the 
sisterhood  of  States,  she  is  an  empire  in  all  that  constitutes 
a  great  commonwealth.  An  industrious,  intelligent,  and 
prosperous  population  of  5,000,000  of  people  live  within 
her  borders.  In  the  value  of  her  farms  and  farm  products, 
and  in  her  manufacturing  industries,  she  is  the  first 
State  in  the  Union.  She  sustains  over  1,000  newspapers 
and  periodicals,  has  $80,000,000  invested  in  church 
property,  and  spends  $12,000,000  a  year  on  popular  educa- 
tion. Upward  of  300  academies  and  colleges  fit  her  youth 
for  special  professions,  and  furnish  opportunities  for 
liberal  learning  and  the  highest  culture,  and  stately  edifices 
all  over  the  State,  dedicated  to  humane  and  benevolent 
objects,  exhibit  the  permanence  and  extent  of  her  organized 
charities.  There  are  $600,000,000  in  her  savings  banks, 
$300,000,000  in  her  insurance  companies,  and  $700,000,000 
in  the  capital  and  loans  of  her  State  and  National  banks. 
Six  thousand  miles  of  railroads,  costing  $600,000,000,  have 
penetrated  and  developed  every  accessible  corner  of  the 
State,  and  maintain,  against  all  rivalry  and  competition, 
her  commercial  prestige." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

IN  THE  CENTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

The  Geographical  Center  of  the  United  States  and  its  Location  West 
of  the  Mississippi  River — The  Center  of  Population — History  of 
Fort  Rile j— The  Gallant  "Seventh"— Early  Troubles  of  Kansas— 
Extermination  of  the  Buffalo — But  a.  Few  Survivors  out  of  Many 
Millions. 

\S\  ANSAS  is  included  by  most  people  in  the  list  of 
•I  %  Western  States ;  by  many  it  is  regarded  as  in  the 
extreme  West.  If  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  had  been  told  that 
the  haven  of  refuge  they  had  selected  would,  within  two  or 
three  hundred  years,  be  part  of  a  great  English-speaking 
nation  with  some  70,000,000  of  inhabitants,  and  with  its 
center  some  1,500  miles  westward,  they  would  have  listened 
to  the  story  with  pardonable  incredulity,  and  would  have 
felt  like  invoking  condemnation  upon  the  head  of  the 
reckless  prophet  who  was  addressing  them. 

Yet  Kansas  is  to-day  in  the  very  center  of  the  United 
States.  This  is  not  a  printer's  error,  nor  a  play  upon  words, 
much  as  the  New  Englander  may  suspect  the  one  or  the 
other.  There  was  a  time  when  the  word  "West"  was 
used  to  apply  to  any  section  of  the  country  a  day's  journey 
on  horseback  from  the  Atlantic  Coast.  For  years,  and 
even  generations,  everything  west  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountains  or  of  the  Ohio  River  was  "  Out  West."  Even 
to-day  it  is  probable  that  a  majority  of  the  residents  in 
the  strictly  Eastern  States  regard  anything  west  of  the 
Mississippi  River  as  strictly  Western. 

(65) 


66  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  when  Horace  Greeley  told  the 
young  men  of  the  country  to  "Go  West  and  grow  up  with 
the  country,"  he  used  the  term  in  its  common  and  not  its 
strictly  geographical  sense,  and  many  thousand  youths, 
who  took  the  advice  of  the  philosopher  and  statesman, 
stopped  close  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and 
have  grown  rich  in  their  new  homes.  It  cannot  be  too 
generally  realized,  however,  that  the  Mississippi  River 
slowly  wends  its  way  down  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  well 
within  the  eastern  half  of  the  greatest  nation  in  the  world. 
At  several  points  in  the  circuitous  course  of  the  Father  of 
Waters,  the  distance  between  the  river  and  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  is  about  1,000  miles.  In  an  equal  number  of  points 
the  distance  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  2,000  miles,  showing 
that  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  and  especially  of  its  gigantic  tributary  the 
Missouri,  the  Mississippi  is  an  Eastern  and  not  a  Western 
river. 

We  give  an  illustration  of  the  point  which  competent 
surveyors  and  engineers  tell  us  is  the  exact  geographical 
center  of  the  United  States  proper.  The  monument 
standing  in  the  center  of  this  great  country  is  surrounded 
by  an  iron  railing,  and  is  visited  again  and  again  by 
tourists,  who  find  it  difficult  to  believe  the  fact  that  a  point 
apparently  so  far  western  is  really  central.  The  center  of 
the  United  States  has  gone  west  with  the  absorption  of  terri- 
tory, and  the  Louisiana  purchase,  the  centenary  of  which 
we  shall  shortly  celebrate,  had  a  great  effect  on  the  location. 

The  center  of  population  has  moved  less  spasmodically, 
but  with  great  regularity.  A  hundred  years  ago  the  City 
of  Baltimore  was  the  center  of  population,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  middle  of  the  century  that  Ohio  boasted  of 


THE  CENTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY.      67 

owning  the  population  center.  For  some  twenty  years 
it  remained  near  Cincinnati,  but  during  the  '80s  it  went 
as  far  as  Columbus,  Indiana,  where  it  was  at  the  last 
Government  census.  At  the  present  time  it  is  probably 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  west  of  Columbus,  and  in  the  near 
future  Fort  Riley  will  be  the  population,  as  well  as  the 
geographical,  center. 

Fort  Riley  is  an  interesting  spot  for  civilian  and  soldier 
-alike.  Having  been  selected  by  the  Government  as  the 
permanent  training  school  for  the  two  mounted  branches 
of  the  service — the  cavalry  and  light  artillery — its  21,000 
acres  have  been  improved  at  lavish  expense.  It  seems 
really  remarkable  that  so  metropolitan  a  bit  of  ground 
could  be  found  out  on  the  plains,  where,  though  civiliza- 
tion is  making  rapid  strides,  and  the  luxuries  of  wealth  are 
being  acquired  by  the  advancing  population,  it  is  unusual 
to  find  macadamized  streets  and  buildings  that  can  harbor  a 
regiment  and  still  not  be  crowded.  Yet  such  are  some  of 
the  characteristics  of  Fort  Riley  Reservation,  and  the 
newness  of  it  all  is  the  best  evidence  of  the  interest  the 
War  Department  has  taken  in  its  development.  Many  of 
the  recently  erected  buildings  would  grace  the  capital 
itself.  Nearly  $1,000,000  have  been  expended  in  the  past 
four  years  in  new  structures,  all  of  magnesia  limestone, 
and  built  along  the  lines  of  the  most  approved  modern 
architecture,  and  of  a  character  which  insures  scores  of 
years  of  usefulness. 

The  fort  is  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Kansas 
River,  near  the  junction  of  the  Republican  and  Smoky 
Hill  Forks.  It  was  first  laid  out  in  1852,  and  has  ever 
since  been  one  of  the  leading  "Western  posts.  Located, 
though  it  is,  far  out  on  the  Kansas  prairies,  it  has,  partic- 


68  31 Y  NATIVE  LAND. 

ularly  in  late  years,  been  fully  in  touch  with  the  social  life 
of  the  East,  through  the  addition  of  new  officers  and  the 
interchange  of  post  courtesies. 

The  post,  as  it  stands  to-day,  consists  of  officers* 
quarters,  artillery  and  cavalry  barracks,  administration 
buildings,  sheds,  hospital,  dispensary,  etc.,  scattered  over 
150  acres  of  ground.  The  Kansas  River  is  formed  just 
southwest  of  it  by  the  union  of  the  Smoky  Hill  and  Repub- 
lican Forks,  and  the  topography  for  practice  and  sight- 
seeing could  not  be  surpassed  in  the  State.  Five  miles 
of  macadamized  streets,  150,000  feet  of  stone  and  gravel 
walks,  six  miles  of  sewers,  four  miles  of  water  and  steam 
heating  pipes,  leading  to  every  room  of  each  of  the  sixty 
buildings,  make  up  the  equipment,  which  is,  of  course,  of 
the  highest  quality  throughout.  All  the  stone  is  quarried 
on  the  reservation,  and  is  of  lasting  variety,  and  makes 
buildings  which  bear  a  truly  substantial  appearance.  The 
Government  has  an  idea  toward  permanency  in  its 
improvements. 

The  history  of  Fort  Riley  has  been  one  of  vicissitudes. 
When  it  was  laid  out  in  1852,  it  was  at  first  called  Camp 
Center,  but  was  changed  to  its  present  name  by  order  of 
the  War  Department  in  honor  of  General  B.  C.  Riley.  In 
1855,  the  fort  suffered  from  Asiatic  cholera,  and  Major  E. 
A.  Ogden,  one  of  the  original  commissioners  who  laid  out 
the  reservation,  who  was  staying  there,  nursed  the  soldiers 
with  a  heroic  attachment  to  duty,  and  himself  fell  a  victim 
to  the  disease.  A  handsome  monument  marks  his  resting 
place.  He  was  a  true  soldier  hero,  and  his  name  is  still 
spoken  in  reverence  by  the  attaches  of  the  post. 

Another  notable  feature  of  the  reservation  is  the  dis- 
mantled rock  wall  to  the  east  of  the  fort,  which  is  all  that 


IN  THE  CENTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY.      69 

now  remains  of  the  once  ambitious  capitol  building  of  the 
State  of  Kansas.  It  has  a  strange  history,  being  the 
* 'Pawnee  House,"  in  which  the  Territorial  Legislature  met 
in  the  early  ante-bellum  days,  confident  of  protection  by 
the  soldiers  from  the  roaming  Indian  bands  infesting  the 
prairies. 

A  famous  dweller  at  the  fort  for  two  decades  was  old 
Comanche,  the  only  living  creature  to  escape  from  the 
Custer  massacre  on  the  side  of  the  Government.  He  was 
the  horse  ridden  by  an  officer  in  that  memorable  fight,  and 
by  miracle  escaped,  after  having  seven  balls  fired  into  him. 
He  was  found  roaming  over  the  prairie,  after  the  massacre, 
and  was  ordered  put  on  the  retired  list,  and  stationed  at 
Fort  Riley,  where  for  twenty  years  he  was  petted  and 
cared  for,  but  never  ridden.  His  only  service  was  to  be 
•led  in  processions  of  ceremony,  draped  in  mourning.  Now 
that  he  is  dead,  his  body  has  been  preserved  with  the 
taxidermist's  best  skill,  and  is  one  of  the  State's  most 
noted  relics. 

The  fort  has  been  of  unusual  interest  of  late.  In 
addition  to  the  maneuvers  of  the  school  for  mounted 
service,  in  which  the  soldiers  have  been  regularly  drilled, 
engaging  in  sham  battles,  throwing  up  mimic  fortifications, 
fording  the  rivers,  etc.,  the  War  Signal  Service  has  been 
conducting  some  interesting  experiments.  The  Signal 
Service  has  had  its  huge  balloon,  which  was  exhibited  at 
the  World's  Fair,  at  the  post,  and  its  ascensions  and  the 
operations  put  in  practice  have  proved  very  attractive  and 
instructive. 

The  new  riding  hall,  or  cavalry  practice  building,  makes 
it  possible  for  the  training  school  to  go  on  the  year  round, 
regardless  of  the  weather.  It  has  an  open  floor  space  300 


70  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

feet  long  and  100  feet  wide,  making  it  an  admirable  room 
for  the  purpose. 

The  Fort  Riley  troops  are  always  called  on  when  there 
is  trouble  in  the  West.  They  have  put  down  a  dozen 
Indian  uprisings  on  the  plains,  and  only  a  few  months  ago 
were  sent  for  to  keep  order  in  Chicago  during  the  railway 
strikes.  From  this  trip,  four  old  members  of  the  post 
were  brought  back  dead,  having  met  their  fate  in  the 
bursting  of  a  caisson,  while  marching  along  a  paved  street. 

The  fort  is  the  great  pleasure  resort  of  Kansas.  The  late 
commanding  officer,  Colonel  Forsyth,  now  General  Forsyth, 
is  much  given  to  hospitality,  and  the  people  of  the  State 
take  great  pride  in  the  post's  advancement  and  its  victories. 
During  the  summer,  on  several  occasions,  the  national 
holidays  especially,  the  soldiers  "  receive,"  and  excursion 
trains  bring  hundreds  of  visitors  from  every  direction, 
who  are  delighted  to  feast  their  eyes  on  real  cannon, 
uniforms  and  shoulder  straps.  They  are  entertained 
royally.  Drills,  salutes,  sham  battles  and  parades,  occupy 
every  hour  of  the  day,  and  in  the  evening  the  drill  floor 
becomes  a  dancing  place  for  all  who  enjoy  the  delights  of 
a  military  ball.  t 

The  history  of  the  fort  has  been,  in  a  measure,  that  of 
the  Seventh  Cavalry,  which  for  nearly  two  decades  has 
had  its  residence  there,  and  become  identified  with  the 
spot.  The  Seventh  Cavalry  dates  its  glory  from  before 
the  days  of  the  intrepid  Custer,  whose  memory  it  cher- 
ishes. It  has  taken  part  in  scores  of  Indian  battles — 
indeed,  there  has  not,  for  years,  been  an  uprising  in  the 
West  in  which  it  has  not  done  duty.  Its  last  considerable 
encounter  was  at  Wounded  Knee  and  Drexel  Mission, 
where  the  Custer  massacre  was  in  a  degree  avenged.  Here 


ZY  THE  CENTER  OF  THE  COUNT tt  Y.      73 

It  lost  twenty -four  of  its  members,  and  a  magnificent 
granite  monument  has  been  erected  at  the  fort  to  their 
memory.  It  bears  the  names  of  those  who  fell,  and  tells 
briefly  the  story  of  their  bravery. 

In  the  Wounded  Knee  battle,  on  the  plains  of  Dakota, 
during  the  closing  days  of  1891,  the  four  troops  of  the 
regiment  were  treacherously  surprised  by  the  Sioux,  and 
because,  after  the  attack,  Colonel  Forsyth  ordered  a  charge, 
resulting  in  the  killing  of  many  of  the  savages,  he  was 
suspended  by  his  superior  officer,  General  Miles,  for  dis- 
obedience of  orders,  which  were  not  to  fire  on  the  enemy. 
An  investigation,  however,  amply  justified  his  action,  and 
he  was  reinstated  in  charge  of  his  post  as  before.  Early 
in  November,  1894,  on  the  promotion  of  General  McCook 
to  be  Major  General,  Colonel  Forsyth  stepped  up  to  the 
Brigadier  Generalship,  and  his  place  at  Fort  Riley  will  be 
taken  by  Colonel  Scunner.  There  is  a  rumor,  however,  in 
army  circles,  that  the  old  Seventh  will  be  stationed  in  the 
far  Northwest,  and  the  Fifth  Cavalry  will  succeed  it  as 
resident  regiment  here.  The  post  has  become  so  closely 
identified  with  the  fortunes  of  the  former  regiment  that  it 
will  seem  strange  to  have  any  other  troops  call  it  home. 

There  are  usually  at  the  fort  three  squadrons  of 
cavalry,  of  four  troops  each,  and  five  batteries  of  light 
artillery,  engaged  in  the  maneuvers  of  the  school  for 
mounted  service,  which  has  its  headquarters  for  the  entire 
army  here.  The  principal  object  of  this  school  is  instruc- 
tion in  the  combined  operations  of  the  cavalry  and  light 
artillery,  and  this  object  is  kept  steadily  in  view.  The 
troops  of  each  arm  form  a  sub-school,  and  are  instructed 
nine  months  in  the  year  in  their  own  arm,  preparatory  to 
the  three  months  of  combined  operations.  Thus  the 


74  J/F  NATIVE  LAND. 

batteries  are  frequently  practiced  in  road  marching  in  rapid 
gaits ;  the  Kansas  River  is  often  forded ;  rough  hills  are 
climbed  at ' 'double  quick,"  and  guns  are  brought  to  action 
on  all  sorts  of  difficult  ground,  with  the  result  that,  when 
the  combined  operations  begin,  the  batteries  may  be 
maneuvered  over  all  kinds  of  obstacles. 

Among  the  plans  of  the  future  is  one,  which  was  a 
favorite  with  General  Sheridan,  of  making  Fort  Riley  the 
horse-furnishing  headquarters  for  the  entire  army.  The 
location  being  so  central,  it  insures  the  nearest  approach 
to  perfect  acclimation  of  animals  sent  to  any  part  of  the 
Union.  Two  plans  are  being  contemplated  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  object.  One  is  to  make  it  a  breeding 
station ;  the  other  is  to  simply  make  it  a  purchasing  station, 
which  shall  buy  of  the  farmers  of  the  West  the  horses 
needed  by  the  army,  and  train  the  animals  for  regular  use 
before  sending  them  to  the  various  posts. 

Present  plans  also  include  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
soldiers  stationed  at  Fort  Riley  to  3,000.  If  the  proposed 
increase  in  the  standing  army  is  carried  out,  there  may  be 
more  than  that.  The  Government  evidently  has  faith  in 
the  location  of  the  fort.  While  it  has  abandoned  and  con- 
solidated other  stations,  it  has  all  the  time  been  increasing 
its  expenditures  here,  and  the  estimates  for  the  next  year 
aggregate  expenditures  of  over  $500,000,  provided  the 
Appropriation  Committee  does  its  duty.  There  are  plans 
of  still  further  beautifying  the  grounds,  and  the  addition 
of  more  turnpikes  and  macadamized  roads. 

The  State  of  Kansas,  and  especially  Geary  and  Riley 
Counties,  in  which  the  fort  is  situated,  reap  a  considerable 
benefit  from  its  location.  The  perishable  produce  of  the 
commissary  department  comes  from  the  country  around. 


IN  THE  CENTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY.      75 

Hundreds  of  horses  are  bought  at  round  prices,  while  the 
soldier  trade  has  sent  Junction  City,  four  miles  west, 
ahead  of  all  competitors  in  Central  Kansas  for  volume  of 
business  and  population.  Naturally,  Kansas  is  glad  to  see 
Fort  Riley  a  permanency,  and  hopes  that  it  may  be  made 
the  Government's  chief  Western  post. 

Kansas  has  been  spoken  of  as  the  most  wonderful 
State  in  the  Union,  and  in  many  respects  it  is  fully  entitled 
to  its  reputation  in  this  respect.  It  has  had  enough  dis- 
couragements and  drawbacks  to  ruin  half  a  dozen  States, 
and  nothing  but  the  phenomenal  fertility  of  the  soil,  and 
the  push  and  go  of  the  pioneers  who  claim  the  State  as 
their  own,  has  enabled  Kansas  to  withstand  difficulties 
and  to  sail  buoyantly  through  waves  of  danger  into  harbors 
of  refuge.  In  its  early  days,  border  warfare  hindered 
development  and  drove  many  most  desirable  settlers  to 
more  peaceful  spots.  Since  then  the  prefix  "Bleeding" 
has  again  been  used  repeatedly  in  connection  with  the 
State,  because  of  the  succession  of  droughts  and  plagues 
of  grasshoppers  and  chinch  bugs,  which  have  imperiled  its 
credit  and  fair  name.  But  Kansas  remains  to-day  a  great 
State,  with  a  magnificent  future  before  it.  The  fertility  of 
the  soil  is  more  than  phenomenal.  Kansas  corn  is  known 
throughout  the  world  for  its  excellency,  and  at  the  World's 
Fair  in  1893  it  took  highest  awards  for  both  the  white  arid 
yellow  varieties.  In  addition  to  this,  it  secured  the  gold 
medal  for  the  best  corn  in  the  world,  as  well  as  the  highest 
awards  for  red  winter  wheat  flour,  sorghum  sugar  and 
apples.  Indeed,  Kansas  soil  produces  almost  anything  to 
perfection,  and  the  State,  thanks  largely  to  works  of  irriga- 
tion in  the  extreme  western  section,  is  producing  larger 
quantities  of  indispensable  agricultural  products  every  year. 


76  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

The  very  motto  of  the  State  indicates  the  early  troubles 
through  which  it  went,  the  literal  interpretation  being  "To 
the  stars  (and  stripes)  through  difficulties."  The  State 
is  generally  known  now  as  the  "Sunflower  State,"  and  for 
many  years  the  sword  has  given  place  to  the  plowshare. 
But  the  very  existence  of  Fort  Riley  shows  that  this  was 
not  always  the  condition  of  affairs.  Early  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century,  French  fur-traders  crossed  over  into  Kansas,  and, 
later  on,  Spanish  explorers  were  struck  with  the  possibilities 
of  the  fertile  plains.  Local  Indian  tribes  were  then  at  war, 
but  a  sense  of  common  danger  caused  the  antagonistic  red 
men  to  unite,  and  the  white  immigrants  were  massacred  in  a 
body.  After  the  famous  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820, 
and  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Act  of  thirty  years  later,  the 
slave  issue  became  a  very  live  one  in  Kansas,  and  for  some 
time  the  State  was  in  a  condition  bordering  upon  civil 
war.  The  convention  of  1859,  at  Wyandotte,  settled  this 
difficulty,  and  placed  Kansas  in  the  list  of  anti-slavery 
States. 

Some  ten  years  ago,  after  Kansas  had  enjoyed  a  period 
of  the  most  unique  prosperity,  from  an  agricultural  stand- 
point, the  general  impression  began  to  prevail  that  the 
State  was  destined  to  become  almost  immediately  the 
greatest  in  the  nation.  Corn  fields  were  platted  out  into 
town  sites,  and  additions  to  existing  cities  were  arranged 
in  every  direction.  For  a  time  it  appeared  as  though  there 
was  little  exaggeration  in  the  extravagant  forecast  of  future 
greatness.  Town  lots  sold  in  a  most  remarkable  manner, 
many  valuable  corners  increasing  in  value  ten  and  twenty- 
fold  in  a  single  night.  The  era  of  railroad  building  was 
coincident  with  the  town  boom  craze,  and  Eastern  people 
were  so  anxious  to  obtain  a  share  of  the  enormous  profits 


AT  THE  CENTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY.      77 

to  be  made  by  speculating  in  Kansas  town  lots,  that 
money  was  telegraphed  to  agents  and  banks  all  over  the 
State,  and  options  on  real  estate  were  sold  very  much  on 
the  plan  adopted  by  traders  in  stocks  and  bonds  in  Wall 
Street. 

The  greed  of  some,  if  not  most,  of  the  speculators,  soon 
killed  the  goose  which  laid  the  golden  egg.  The  boom 
burst  in  a  most  pronounced  manner.  People  who  had  lost 
their  heads  found  them  again,  and  many  a  farmer  who  had 
abandoned  agriculture  in  order  to  get  rich  by  trading  in 
lots,  went  back  to  his  plow  and  his  chores,  a  sadder  and 
wiser,  although  generally  poorer,  man.  Many  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  changed  hands  during  the  boom. 
Exactly  who  "beat  the  game,"  to  use  the  gambler's 
expression,  has  never  been  known.  Certain  it  is,  that  for 
every  man  in  Kansas  who  admits  that  he  made  money  out 
of  the  excitement  and  inflation,  there  are  at  least  fifty  who 
say  that  the  boom  well-nigh  ruined  them. 

Kansas  is  as  large  as  Great  Britain,  larger  than  the 
whole  of  New  England  combined,  and  a  veritable  empire 
in  itself.  It  is  a  State  of  magnificent  proportions,  and  of 
the  most  unique  and  delightful  history.  Three  and  a  half 
centuries  ago,  Coronado,  the  great  pioneer  prospector  and 
adventurer,  hunted  Kansas  from  end  to  end  in  search  of 
the  precious  metals  which  he  had  been  told  could  be  found 
there  in  abundance.  He  wandered  over  the  immense 
stretch  of  prairies  and  searched  along  the  creek  bottoms 
without  finding  what  he  sought.  He  speaks  in  his  records 
of  * 'mighty  plains  and  sandy  heaths,  smooth  and  weari- 
some and  bare  of  wood.  All  the  way  the  plains  are  as  full 
of  crooked-back  oxen  as  the  mountain  Serena  in  Spain 
is  of  sheep." 


78  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

These  crooked-back  oxen  were  of  course  buffaloes,  or, 
more  correctly  speaking,  species  of  the  American  bison. 
No  other  continent  was  ever  blessed  with  a  more  magnifi- 
cent and  varied  selection  of  beasts  and  birds  in  forests  and 
prairies  than  was  North  America.  Kansas  in  particular 
was  fortunate  in  the  possession  of  thousands  of  herds  of 
buffaloes.  Now  it  has  none,  except  a  few  in  a  domesticated 
state,  with  their  old  regal  glory  departed  forever.  When  we 
read  the  reports  of  travelers  and  trappers,  written  little 
more  than  half  a  century  ago,  and  treating  of  the  enormous 
buffalo  herds  that  covered  the  prairies  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  we  wonder  whether  these  descriptions  can  be 
real,  or  whether  they  are  not  more  in  the  line  of  fables 
and  the  outgrowth  of  a  too  vivid  imagination. 

If,  thirty  years  ago,  some  wiseacre  had  come  forward 
and  predicted  that  it  would  become  necessary  to  devise 
means  for  the  protection  of  this  enormous  amount  of  game, 
he  would  have  been  laughed  out  of  countenance.  Yet  this 
extraordinary  condition  of  affairs  has  actually  come  to  pass. 
Entire  species  of  animals  which  belonged  to  the  magnifi- 
cent fauna  of  North  America  are  already  extinct  or  are 
rapidly  becoming  so.  The  sea-cow  is  one  of  these  animals ; 
the  last  specimens  of  which  were  seen  in  1767  and  176S. 
The  Californian  sea-elephant  and  the  sea-dog  of  the  West 
Indies  have  shared  a  like  fate.  Not  a  trace  of  these 
animals  has  been  found  for  a  long  time.  The  extinction 
of  the  Labrador  duck  and  the  great  auk  have  often  been 
deplored.  Both  of  these  birds  may  be  regarded  as  practi- 
cally extinct.  The  last  skeleton  of  the  great  auk  was 
sold  for  $600,  the  last  skin  for  $650,  and  the  last  egg 
brought  the  fabulous  sum  of  $1,500. 

Last,  not  least,  the  American  bison  is  a  thing  of  the  past  f 


AY  THE  CENTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY.      79 

It  has  been'  historically  proven  that  at  the  time  of  the 
discovery  of  America,  the  buffalo  herds  covered  the  entire 
enormous  territory  from  Pennsylvania  to  Oregon  and 
Nevada,  and  down  to  Mexico,  and  thirty  years  ago  the 
large  emigrant  caravans  which  traveled  from  the  Eastern 
States  across  the  Mississippi  to  the  gold  fields  of  California, 
met  with  herds  of  buffaloes,  not  numbering  thousands,  but 
hundreds  of  thousands.  The  construction  trains  of  the 
first  Pacific  Railroad  were  frequently  interrupted  and 
delayed  by  wandering  buffalo  herds. 

To-day  the  United  States  may  be  traversed  from  end 
to  end,  and  not  a  single  buffalo  will  be  seen,  and  nothing 
remains  to  even  indicate  their  presence  but  the  deep,  well- 
trodden  paths  which  they  made  years  ago.  Eain  has  not 
been  able  to  wash  away  these  traces,  and  they  are  counted 
among  the  "features"  of  the  prairies,  where  the  bisons  once 
roamed  in  undisturbed  glory.  It  was  a  difficult  task  for  the 
Government  to  gather  the  last  remnants,  about  150  to  200 
head,  to  stock  Yellowstone  Park  with  them,  and  to  prevent 
their  complete  extinction. 

Undoubtedly,  the  buffalo  was  the  most  stupid  animal 
of  the  prairies.  In  small  flocks,  he  eluded  the  hunter  well 
enough;  but  in  herds  of  thousands,  he  cared  not  a  whit  for 
the  shooting  at  the  flanks  of  his  army.  Any  Indian  or 
trapper,  stationed  behind  some  shrubs  or  earth  hill,  could 
kill  dozens  of  buffalo  without  disturbing  the  herd  by  the 
swish  of  the  arrow,  the  report  of  the  rifle,  or  the  dying 
groans  of  the  wounded  animals.  A  general  stampede 
ensued  at  times,  which  often  led  the  herd  into  morasses, 
or  the  quick-sand  of  the  rivers,  where  they  perished 
miserably.  The  destruction  was  still  greater  when  the 
leader  of  the  herd  came  upon  some  yawning  abyss.  Those 


80  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

behind  drove  him  down  into  the  deep,  and  the  entire  herd 
followed  blindly,  only  to  be  dashed  to  death. 

The  very  stupidity  of  the  bison  helped  to  exterminate 
the  race,  where  human  agency  would  have  seemed  well 
nigh  inadequate. 

Among  the  large  game  of  the  continent,  the  bison  was 
the  most  important,  and  furnished  the  numerous  Indian 
tribes  not  only  with  abundant  food,  but  other  things  as 
well.  They  covered  their  tents  with  the  thick  skins,  and 
made  saddles,  boats,  lassoes  and  shoes  from  them.  Folded 
up,  they  used  them  as  beds,  and  wore  them  around  their 
shoulders  as  a  protection  against  the  winter's  cold.  Spoons 
and  other  utensils  for  the  household  could  be  made  from 
their  hoofs  and  horns,  and  their  bones  were  shaped  into  all 
kinds  of  arms  and  weapons.  The  life  and  existence  of  the 
prairie  Indian  depended  almost  entirely  upon  that  of  the 
buffalo.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Indians  killed  many 
buffaloes,  but  while  the  damage  may  have  been  great, 
there  was  not  much  of  a  reduction  noticeable  in  their 
numbers,  for  the  buffalo  cow  is  an  enormous  breeder. 

Conditions  were  changed,  however,  when  the  white 
man  arrived  with  his  rifle,  settled  down  on  the  shores  of 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  began  to  drive  the  aborigines  of 
the  American  continent  further  and  further  West.  With 
this  crowding  back  of  the  Indians  began  that  also  of  the 
buffalo,  and  the  destruction  of  the  latter  was  far  more 
rapid  than  that  of  the  former. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  Seventeenth  Century 
when  the  first  English  colonists  climbed  the  summits  of  the 
Allegheny  Mountains.  Enormous  herds  of  buffalo  grazed 
then  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Tennessee,  and  in  the  famous  blue  grass  regions  of 


IN  THE  CENTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY.      81 

Kentucky.  How  fast  the  buffaloes  became  exterminated 
may  best  be  illustrated  by  the  fact  that,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century,  the  bison  had  entirely  disappeared 
from  the  eastern  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  A  few  isolated 
herds  could  be  found  in  Kentucky  in  1792.  In  1814  the 
animal  had  disappeared  in  Indiana  and  Illinois.  When  the 
white  settlers  crossed  the  Mississippi,  to  seek  connection 
with  the  territories  on  the  Pacific  coast,  the  buffalo 
dominion,  once  so  vast,  decreased  from  year  to  year,  and 
finally  it  was  split  in  two  and  divided  into  a  northern  and 
southern  strip.  The  cause  of  this  division  was  the  Cali- 
fornia overland  emigration,  the  route  of  which  followed 
the  Kansas  and  Platte  Rivers,  cutting  through  the  center 
of  the  buffalo  regions.  These  emigrants  killed  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  animals,  and  the  division  became  still 
greater  after  the  completion  of  the  Union  Pacific  line  and 
the  settlement  of  the  adjacent  districts. 

The  buffaloes  of  the  southern  strip  were  the  first  to  be 
exterminated,  particularly  when  the  building  of  the  Atchi- 
son,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Railroad  facilitated  entrance  to 
the  southern  range. 

Aside  from  the  pleasure  and  excitement  from  a  buffalo 
hunt,  the  yield  was  a  rich  one,  and  troops  of  hunters 
swarmed  over  the  Western  prairies;  buffalo  hunting 
became  an  industry  which  gave  employment  to  thousands 
of  people.  But  human  avarice  knew  no  bounds,  and 
massacred  senselessly  the  finest  game  with  which  this 
continent  was  stocked.  The  dimensions  to  which  this 
industry  grew  may  best  be  guessed  when  it  is  stated  that 
in  1872  more  than  100,000  buffaloes  were  killed  near  Fort 
Dodge  in  three  months.  During  the  summer  of  1874,  an 
expedition  composed  of  sixteen  hunters  killed  2,800 


82  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

buffaloes,  and  during  that  same  season  one  young  trapper 
boasted  of  bavins;  killed  3.000  animals.  The  sio'ht  of  such 

o  ~ 

a  slaughter  scene  was  gruesome  to  behold.  Colonel  Dodge 
writes  of  it:  "During  the  fall  of  1873  I  rode  across  the 
prairie,  where  a  year  ago  I  had  hunted  several  herds.  At 
the  time  we  enjoyed  the  aspect  of  a  myriad  of  buffaloes, 
which  were  grazing  peacefully  over  the  prairies.  Now  we 
rode  past  myriads  of  decaying  cadavers  and  skeletons, 
which  filled  the  air  with  an  insufferable  stench.  The  broad 
plain  which,  a  year  ago,  had  teemed  with  animals,  was 
nothing  more  than  a  dead,  foul  desert." 

Mr.  Blackmore,  another  traveler,  who  went  through 
Kansas  at  about  the  same  time,  says  that  he  counted,  on 
four  acres  of  ground,  no  less  than  sixty-seven  buffalo 
carcasses.  As  was  to  be  expected,  this  wholesale  and, 
indeed,  wanton  slaughter  brought  its  own  reward  and 
condemnation.  The  price  of  buffalo  skins  dropped  to 
50  cents,  although  as  much  as  $3.00  had  been  paid  regularly 
for  them.  Moreover,  as  the  number  of  animals  killed 
was  greater  than  could  be  removed,  the  decaying  carcasses 
attracted  wolves,  and  even  worse  foes,  to  the  farmyard, 
and  terrible  damage  to  cattle  resulted. 

The  Indians  also  were  disturbed.  "Poor  Lo  "  com- 
plained of  the  wanton  and  senseless  killing  of  the  principal 
means  of  his  sustenance,  and  when  the  white  man  with  a 
laugh  ignored  these  complaints,  the  Indians  got  on  the 
war-path,  attacked  settlements,  killed  cattle  and  stole  pro- 
visions, thus  giving  rise  to  conflicts,  which  devoured  not 
only  enormous  sums  of  money,  but  cost  the  lives  of 
thousands  of  people.  When  the  locust  plague  swept  over 
the  fields  of  Kansas  and  destroyed  the  entire  crop,  the 
settlers  themselves  hungered  for  the  buffalo  meat  of 


'IN  THE  CENTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY.      83 

which  they  had  robbed  themselves,  and  vengeance  came  in 
more  ways  than  one. 

The  extermination  of  the  buffalo  of  the  southern  range 
was  completed  about  1875 ;  to  the  bisons  of  the  northern 
range  were  given  a  few  years'  grace.  But  the  same  scenes 
which  were  enacted  in  the  South,  repeated  themselves  in  the 
North,  and  the  white  barbarians  were  not  satisfied  until  they 
had  killed  the  last  of  the  noble  game  in  1885.  When  the 
massacre  was  nearly  over,  a  few  isolated  herds  were  col- 
lected and  transported  to  Yellowstone  Park,  where  they 
have  increased  to  about  400  during  the  last  few  years, 
protected  by  the  hunting  laws,  which  are  strictly  enforced. 
With  the  exception  of  a  very  few  specimens,  tenderly 
nursed  by  some  cattle  raisers  in  Kansas  and  Texas,  and 
in  some  remote  parts  of  British  America,  these  are  the 
last  animals  of  a  species,  which  two  decades  ago  wandered 
in  millions  over  the  vast  prairies  of  the  West. 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE    MORMONS    AND   THEIR    WIVES. 

The  Pilgrimage  Across  the  Bad  Lands  to  Utah — Incidents  of  the 
March — Success  of  the  New  Colony  —  Religious  Persecutions — 
Murder  of  an  Entire  Family — The  Curse  of  Polygamy — An  Ideal 
City — Humors  of  Bathing  in  Great  Salt  Lake. 

BBOUT  half  a  century  ago  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
pilgrimages  of  modern  times  took  place.  Across 
what  was  then,  not  inaptly,  described  by  writers  as  an  arid 
and  repulsive  desert,  there  advanced  a  procession  of  the  most 
unique  and  awe-inspiring  character.  History  tells  us  of 
bands  of  crusaders  who  tramped  across  Europe  in  order  to 
rescue  the  Holy  Land  from  tyrants  and  invaders.  On  that 
occasion,  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  were  represented, 
from  the  religious  enthusiast,  to  the  ignorant  bigot,  and 
from  the  rich  man  who  was  sacrificing  his  all  in  the  cause 
that  he  believed  to  be  right,  to  the  tramp  and  ne'er-do-well, 
who  had  allied  himself  with  that  cause  for  revenue  only. 
But  the  distance  traversed  by  the  crusaders  six  or  seven 
hundred  years  ago  was  insignificant  compared  with  the  dis- 
tance traversed  by  the  pilgrims  to  whom  we  are  referring. 
In  addition  to  this,  the  country  to  be  crossed  presented 
difficulties  of  a  far  more  startling  and  threatening  character. 
There  was  before  them  a  promised  land  in  the  extreme 
distance,  but  there  intervened  a  tract  of  land  which 
seemed  as  impassable  a  barrier  as  the  much  talked-of ,  but 
seldom  inspected,  Chinese  Wall  of  old.  There  was  a  region 

(84) 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THEIR  WIVES.       85 

of  desolation  and  death,  extending  from  the  Sierra  Nevadas 
to  the  border  lines  of  Nebraska,  and  from  the  Yellowstone 
to  the  Colorado  Rivers.  A  profane  writer  once  suggested 
that  the  same  Creator  could  hardly  have  brought  into 
existence  this  arid,  barren  and  inhospitable  region  and  the 
fertile  plains  and  beautiful  mountains  which  surrounded  it 
on  all  sides. 

Civilization  and  irrigation  have  destroyed  the  most 
awful  characteristics  of  this  region,  but  at  the  time  to 
which  we  are  referring,  it  was  about  as  bad  from  the 
standpoint  of  humanity  and  human  needs  as  could  well  be 
imagined.  Here  and  there,  there  were  lofty  mountains 
and  deep  canons,  as  there  are  now,  but  the  immense  plains, 
which  occupy  the  bulk  of  the  land,  were  unwatered  and 
uncared  for,  giving  forth  volumes  of  a  penetrating  alkali 
dust,  almost  as  injurious  to  human  flesh  as  to  human  attire. 
Here  and  there,  there  were,  of  course,  little  oases  of 
comparative  verdure,  which  were  regarded  by  unfortunate 
travelers  not  only  as  havens  of  refuge,  but  as  little  heavens 
in  the  midst  of  a  sea  of  despair.  The  trail  across  the 
desert,  naturally,  ran  through  as  many  as  possible  of  these 
successful  efforts  of  nature  to  resist  decay,  and  along  the 
trail  there  were  to  be  found  skeletons  and  ghastly  remains 
of  men  whose  courage  had  exceeded  their  ability,  and  who 
had  succumbed  to  hunger  and  thirst  in  this  great,  lonesome 
desert. 

That  no  one  lived  in  this  region  it  would  seem  super- 
fluous to  state.  Occasionally  a  band  of  Indians  would 
traverse  it  in  search  of  hunting  grounds  beyond,  though, 
as  a  general  rule,  the  red  man  left  the  country  severely 
alone,  and  made  no  effort  to  dispute  the  rights  of  the 
coyotes  and  buzzards  to  sole  possession. 


86  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

Along  the  trail  mentioned,  there  advanced  at  the  period 
to  which  we  have  referred,  a  procession  which  we  have 
likened,  in  some  respects,  to  the  advance  of  the  crusaders 
in  mediaeval  days.  Those  who  happened  to  sec  it  pass 
described  this  cavalcade  as  almost  beyond  conception. 
The  first  impression  from  a  distance  was  that  an  immense 
herd  of  buffalo  were  advancing  and  creating  the  cloud  of 
dust,  which  seemed  to  rise  from  the  bare. ground  and  mount 
to  the  clouds.  As  it  came  nearer,  and  the  figures  became 
more  discernible,  it  was  seen  that  the  caravan  was  headed 
by  a  band  of  armed  horsemen.  The  animals  were  jaded  and 
fatigued,  and  walked  with  their  heads  low  down  and  their 
knees  bent  out  of  shape  and  form.  Their  riders  seemed  as 
exhausted  as  the  animals  themselves,  and  the}r  carried  their 
dust-begrimed  guns  in  anything  but  military  fashion. 
Behind  them  came  hundreds,  nay,  thousands,  of  wagons, 
of  all  shapes  and  builds,  some  of  them  entirely  open  and 
exposed,  and  others  protected  more  or  less  by  canvas  tilts. 
These  wagons  seemed  to  stretch  back  indefinitely  into 
space,  and  even  when  there  was  no  undulation  of  the 
surface  to  obstruct  the  view,  the  naked  eye  could  not  deter- 
mine to  any  degree  the  length  of  the  procession.  Near 
the  front  of  the  great  cavalcade  was  a  wagon  different  in 
build  and  appearance  to  any  of  the  others.  It  was  hand- 
somely and  even  gaudily  decorated,  and  it  was  covered  in 
so  carefully  that  its  occupants  could  sleep  and  rest  as 
secure  from  annoyance  by  the  dust  as  though  they  were  in 
bed  at  home. 

Instead  of  two  broken-down  horses,  six  well-fed  and 
well-watered  steeds  were  attached  to  the  wagon,  and  it  was 
evident  that  no  matter  how  short  had  been  the  supply  of 
food  and  water,  the  horses  and  occupants  of  this  particular 


THE  MORMONS  ^LYZ)  THEIR  WIVES.       87 

conveyance  had  had  everything  they  desired.  The  occu- 
pant of  this  wagon  was  a  man  who  did  not  look  to  be  more 
than  thirty  years  of  age,  but  whose  face  and  manner 
indicated  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  being  obeyed  rather 
than  obeying.  A  great  portion  of  his  time  was  occupied 
in  reading  from  a  large  vellum-bound  book,  but  from  time 
to  time  he  laid  it  on  one  side  to  settle  disputes  which  had 
arisen  among  some  of  his  ten  thousand  followers,  or  to 
issue  orders  of  the  most  emphatic  and  dogmatic  character. 

This  man  was  Brigham  Young,  the  successor  of  Joseph 
Smith,  and  the  chosen  Prophet  of  the  Mormons,  who  were 
marching  across  the  desert  in  search  of  the  promised  land, 
which  they  were  informed  had  been  set  aside  for  their 
purpose  by  the  Ruler  of  the  Universe. 

We  need  not  follow  the  fortunes  and  misfortunes  of 
the  zealous,  if  misguided,  men  and  families  who  followed 
their  leader  across  the  great  unwatered  and  almost  unex- 
plored desert.  No  one  knows  how  many  fell  by  the 
wayside  and  succumbed  to  hunger,  exhaustion  or  disease. 
The  bulk  of  the  column,  however,  persevered  in  the  march, 
and,  through  much  sadness  and  tribulation,  finally  arrived 
at  a  country  which,  while  it  was  not  then  by  any  means  up 
to  expectation  or  representation,  at  least  presented  facilities 
and  opportunities  for  living.  When  the  great  valleys  of 
Utah  were  reached,  men  who  a  few  months  before  had 
been  strong  and  hardy,  but  who  now  were  lank  and  lean, 
fell  on  their  knees  and  offered  up  thanksgiving  for  their 
deliverance,  while  the  exhausted  women  and  children  sought 
repose  and  rest,  which  had  been  denied  them  for  so  many 
long,  wearisome  days. 

But  there  was  no  time  to  be  wasted  in  rejoicings  over 
achievements,  or  regrets  over  losses.  The  virgin  acres 


88  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

before  them  were  theirs  for  the  asking,  or  rather  taking, 
and  the  Mormon  colony  set  to  work  at  once  to  parcel  out 
the  land  and  to  commence  the  building  of  homes.  What- 
ever may  be  said  against  the  religious  ideas  of  these 
pilgrims,  too  much  credit  cannot  be  given  them  for  the 
business-like  energy  which  characterized  their  every  move- 
ment. A  site  was  selected  for  what  is  now  known  as 
Salt  Lake  City.  Broad  streets  were  laid  out,  building 
plans  and  rules  adopted,  and  every  arrangement  made  for 
the  construction  of  a  handsome  and  symmetrical  city. 
Houses,  streets  and  squares  appeared  almost  by  magic,  and 
in  a  very  few  weeks  quite  a  healthy  town  was  built  up. 
Those  who  in  more  Eastern  regions  had  learned  different 
trades  were  set  to  work  at  callings  of  their  choice,  and  for 
those  who  were  agriculturally  disposed,  farms  were  mapped 
out  and  reserved. 

Fortunate!}'  for  the  newcomers,  industry  was  a  watch- 
word among  them,  and  a  country  which  had  been  up  to 
that  time  a  stranger  to  the  plow  and  shovel  was  drained 
and  ditched,  and  veiy  speedily  planted  to  corn  and  wheat. 
So  fertile  did  this  so-called  arid  ground  prove  to  be,  that 
one  year's  crop  threw  aside  all  fears  of  further  poverty,  and 
prosperity  began  to  reign  supreme.  Had  the  Mormons 
confined  themselves  to  work,  and  had  abandoned  extreme 
religious  and  social  ideas,  impossible  in  an  enlightened  age 
and  country,  they  would  have  risen  long  before  this  into  an 
impregnable  position  in  every  respect. 

But  polygamy,  hitherto  restrained  and  checked  by- 
laws of  Eastern  States  and  Territories,  was  now  indulged  in 
indiscriminately.  The  more  wives  a  member  of  the 
Mormon  church  possessed,  the  greater  was  his  standing  in 
the  community.  The  man  who  had  but  two  or  three  wives 


o 

jcn 

'bfl 
£j 

5 


•a 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  IE  WIVES.       91 

was  censured  for  nis  want  of  enthusiasm,  and  he  was  fre- 
quently fined  heavily  by  the  church,  which  was  not  above 
levying  fines,  and  thus  licensing  alleged  irregularities. 
Some  of  the  elders  had  more  than  a  hundred  wives  each, 
and  these  were  maintained  under  relations  of  a  most 
peculiar  character. 

At  first  the  polygamous  tenents  of  the  church  did  not 
cause  much  comment  on  the  outside,  because  the  Mormons 
were  so  shut  off  from  civilization  that  they  seemed  to 
occupy  a  little  world  of  their  own,  and  no  one  claimed  the 
right  to  censure  or  interfere  with  them.  Gradually,  how- 
ever, there  became  a  shortage  of  marriageable  women,  and 
this  resulted  in  mysterious  raids  being  made  on  neighboring 
settlements.  Wanderers  upon  the  mountains  spoke  with 
horror  of  mysterious  tribes  of  men  who  wandered  around 
engaged  in  acts  of  plunder,  and  from  time  to  time  strange 
women  appeared  in  the  towns  and  settlements. 

Like  so  many  other  bands  of  persecuted  men  who  had 
fled  from  their  oppressors  in  search  of  liberty,  the  early 
Mormons  soon  adopted  the  tactics  of  which  they  had  com- 
plained so  bitterly.  The  man  who  refused  to  obey  the 
orders  of  the  church,  or  who  was  in  any  way  rebellious, 
was  apt  to  disappear  from  his  home  without  warning  or 
explanation.  He  was  not  arrested  or  tried ;  he  was  simply 
spirited  away,  and  no  mark  or  sign  proclaimed  his  last 
resting  place.  The  Danite  Band,  or  the  Avenging  Angels, 
came  into  existence,  and  some  of  their  terrible  deeds  have 
contributed  dark  pages  to  the  history  of  our  native  land. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  acts  such  as  these  were 
approved  indiscriminately  by  the  newcomers.  Occasionally 
a  mild  protest  would  be  uttered,  but  it  seemed  as  though 
the  very  walls  had  ears,  for  even  if  a  man  in  the  bosom  of 


92  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

his  family  criticised  the  conduct  of  the  church,  his  doom 
appeared  to  be  sealed,  and  he  generally  disappeared  within 
a  few  days.  Occasionally  a  family  would  attempt  to  escape 
from  Utah,  in  order  to  avoid  compliance  with  laws  and 
orders  which  they  believed  to  be  criminal  in  character,  as 
well  as  contrary  to  their  preconceived  notions  of  domestic 
happiness  and  right.  To  make  an  attempt  of  this  character 
was  to  invite  death.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  traverse  the  surrounding  mountains  and 
deserts,  and  even  if  these  natural  obstacles  were  overcome, 
the  hand  of  the  avenger  was  constantly  uplifted  against 
the  fugitives,  who  were  blotted  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  on 
the  theory  that  dead  men  tell  no  tales. 

On  one  occasion,  a  man  left  his  home  in  Utah  in  the 
way  described,  because  he  declined  to  bring  home  a  second 
wife.  Brigham  Young,  in  the  course  of  his  pastoral  calls, 
entered  the  comfortable  house  occupied  by  the  family,  and 
called  upon  the  man  to  introduce  to  him  his  wives.  He 
was  one  of  the  few  men  who,  while  in  every  other  respect 
a  zealous  Mormon,  had  declined  to  break  up  his  family 
relations  by  bringing  a  young  wife  into  his  home.  The 
mother  of  his  children  informed  the  Prophet  with  much 
vehemence  of  this  fact,  and  in  words  more  noble  than 
discreet  assured  him  that  no  effort  of  his  could  disturb  the 
domestic  relations  of  the  house,  or  make  her  husband 
untrue  to  vows  he  had  taken  twenty  years  before. 

The  Prophet  was  too  astounded  to  lose  his  temper,  but 
turning  to  the  happy  husband  and  father,  he  told  him  in 
stentorian  tones  that  unless  within  one  month  he  complied 
with  the  orders  of  the  church,  it  would  have  been  better 
for  him  had  he  never  been  born,  or  had  he  died  while  on 
the  terrible  march  across  the  Bad  Lands  and  the  alkali 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THEIR  WIVES.       93 

desert.  That  the  Prophet  was  in  earnest  was  evidenced  by 
the  arrival  the  following  day  of  some  of  his  minions,  who 
brought  with  them  more  explicit  directions,  as  well  as  the 
names  of  certain  young  women  to  whom  the  man  must  be 
" sealed"  or  "married"  within  the  time  mentioned  by 
Young. 

No  idea  of  complying  with  this  order  ever  occurred  to 
the  head  of  the  house.  He  knew  that  his  wife  would  far 
rather  die  than  be  dishonored,  and  he  himself  was  per- 
fectly willing  to  sacrifice  his  life  rather  than  his  honor. 
But  for  the  sake  of  his  four  children  he  determined  to 
make  an  attempt  to  escape,  and  accordingly,  a  few  days 
later,  the  family,  having  collected  together  all  their 
available  and  easily  transported  assets,  hitched  up  their 
wagon  and  drove  away  in  the  dead  of  night.  Their  depart- 
ure in  this  manner  was  not  expected,  and  was  not  discovered 
for  nearly  forty-eight  hours,  during  which  time  the 
refugees  had  made  considerable  progress  over  the  surround- 
ing mountains.  They  maintained  their  march  for  nearly  a 
week,  without  incident,  and  were  congratulating  themselves 
upon  their  escape,  when  the  disaster  which  they  had  feared 
overtook  them. 

They  were  camped  by  the  side  of  a  little  stream  in  a  fer- 
tile valley,  and  all  were  sleeping  peacefully  but  the  elder  boy, 
who  was  acting  as  sentinel.  His  attention  was  first  called 
to  danger  by  the  uneasiness  displayed  by  the  horses,  which, 
by  their  restless  manner  and  sudden  anxiety,  showed  that 
instinct  warned  them  of  an  approaching  party.  Without 
wasting  a  moment's  time,  the  young  man  hastily  aroused 
the  sleepers,  who  prepared  to  abandon  their  camp  and  seek 
refuge  in  the  adjoining  timber.  They  had  barely  reached 
cover  when  a  party  of  mounted  armed  men  rode  up. 


94  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

Finding  a  deserted  camp,  they  separated,  and  commenced 
to  scour  the  surrounding  country.  One  of  the  number 
soon  came  upon  the  retreating  family,  but  before  he  could 
cover  them  with  his  rifle  he  had  been  shot  dead  by  the 
infuriated  father,  who  was  determined  to  resist  to  the 
uttermost  the  horrible  fate  which  now  stared  them  in  the 
face. 

The  noise  was  taken  by  the  other  searchers  as  a  signal 
to  them  that  the  hunted  family  had  been  found,  and 
knowing  that  this  would  be  so,  the  man  and  his  sons 
hurried  the  woman  and  younger  children  to  a  secluded  spot 
at  a  little  distance,  and  seeking  convenient  cover  deter- 
mined to  make  a  desperate  effort  to  protect  those  for 
whose  safety  they  were  responsible.  Unfortunately  for 
the  successful  carrying  out  of  this  plan,  the  helpless 
section  of  the  party  was  discovered  first.  The  avenging 
party  then  divided  up  into  two  sections,  one  of  which 
dragged  away  the  woman  and  her  young  children,  and  the 
others  went  in  search  of  the  man  and  his  two  sons.  They 
speedily  found  them,  and  in  the  fight  which  followed  two 
lives  were  lost  on  both  sides. 

The  oldest  son  of  the  escaping  party  was  wounded  and 
left  for  dead.  Several  hours  later  consciousness  returned 
to  him,  and  the  first  sight  that  met  his  gaze  was  the  dead 
bodies  of  his  father  and  brother.  A  chance  was  offered 
him  to  escape,  but  weak  as  he  was  from  loss  of  blood,  he 
determined  to  follow  up  the  kidnaping  party,  forming  the 
desperate  resolve  that  if  he  could  not  rescue  his  mother 
and  sisters,  he  would  at  least  save  them  from  the  horrible 
fate  that  he  knew  awaited  them.  This  resolve  involved 
his  death,  for  he  was  no  match  for  the  men  he  was  con- 
tending against.  No  grave  was  ever  dug  for  his  remains, 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THEIR  WIVES.       95 

and  no  headstone  tells  the  story  of  his  noble  resolution  and 
his  intrepid  effort  to  carry  it  into  execution. 

There  were  hundreds,  and  probably  thousands,  of 
similar  incidents,  and  Mormonism  proved  a  sad  drawback 
to  the  happiness  of  a  people  who  otherwise  had  before 
them  prospects  of  a  most  delightful  character.  Brigham 
Young  proved  a  marvelous  success  as  a  ruler.  He  had 
eighteen  wives  and  an  indefinite  number  of  children,  esti- 
mates concerning  the  number  of  which  vary  so  much  that 
it  is  best  not  to  give  any  of  them.  It  is  generally  stated 
and  understood  that  the  so-called  revelation  calling  upon 
the  chosen  people  to  practice  polygamy,  was  an  invention 
on  the  part  of  Young,  designed  to  cover  up  his  own  im- 
morality, and  to  obtain  religious  sanction  for  improper 
relationships  he  had  already  built  up.  However  this  may 
be,  it  is  certain  that  polygamy  had  a  serious  blow  dealt  at  it 
by  the  death  of  its  ardent  champion.  Since  then  stern 
federal  legislation  has  resulted  in  the  practical  suppression 
of  the  crime,  and  in  recent  years  the  present  head  of  the 
church  has  officially  declared  the  practice  to  be  improper, 
and  the  habit  dead. 

Brigham  Young's  grave,  of  which  we  give  an  illus- 
tration, has  been  visited  from  time  to  time  by  countless 
pleasure  and  sight-seekers.  Like  the  man,  it  is  unique  in 
every  respect.  It  is  situated  in  the  Prophet's  private 
burial  ground,  which  was  surveyed  and  laid  out  by  him  with 
special  care.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  select  the  last 
resting  place  for  each  of  his  eighteen  wives,  and  so  careful 
was  he  over  these  details  that  the  honor  of  resting  near  him 
was  given  to  each  wife  in  order  of  the  date  of  her  being 
"sealed"  to  him,  in  accordance  with  the  rites  and  laws  of 
the  church.  Most  of  the  Mrs.  Youngs  have  been  buried 


96  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

according  to  arrangements  made,  but  all  of  the  remarkable 
aggregation  of  wives  has  not  yet  been  disposed  of  in  the 
manner  desired.  The  Prophet's  favorite  wife,  concerning 
whose  relationship  to  Mrs.  GroVer  Cleveland  there  has 
been  so  much  controversy,  was  named  Amelia  Folsom. 
For  her  special  comfort  the  Prophet  built  the  Amelia 
Palace,  one  of  the  most  unique  features  of  Salt  Lake  City. 
Here  the  lady  lived  for  several  years. 

Let  us  leave  the  unpleasant  side  of  Mormon  history  and 
see  what  the  zealous,  if  misguided,  people  have  succeeded 
in  accomplishing.  Salt  Lake  City,  which  was  originally 
settled  by  Brigham  Young  and  his  followers  in  July,  1847, 
is  perhaps  the  most  uniform  city  in  the  world  so  far  as  its 
plans  are  concerned.  The  original  settlers  laid  out  the 
city  in  squares  ten  acres  large.  Instead  of  streets  sixty 
and  eighty  feet  wide,  as  are  too  common  in  all  our  crowded 
cities,  a  uniform  width  of  130  feet  was  adopted,  with  more 
satisfactory  results.  In  the  original  portion  of  the  city 
these  wide  streets  are  a  permanent  memorial  to  the  fore- 
thought of  the  early  Mormons.  The  shade  trees  they 
planted  are  now  magnificent  in  their  proportions,  and  along 
each  side  of  the  street  there  runs  a  stream  of  water  of 
exquisite  clearness.  There  is  very  little  crowding  in  the 
way  of  house-building.  Each  house  in  the  city  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  green  lawn,  a  garden  and  an  orchard,  so  that 
poverty  and  squalor  of  the  slum  type  is  practically  unknown. 
The  communistic  idea  of  homes  in  common,  which  has 
received  so  much  attention  of  late  years,  was  not  adopted 
by  the  founders  of  this  city,  who,  however,  took  excellent 
precautions  to  stamp  out  loafing,  begging  and  other  accom- 
paniments of  what  may  be  described  as  professional 
pauperism. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  IE  WIVES.       97 

Within  thirty  years  of  the  building  of  the  first  house  in 
Salt  Lake  City,  which,  by  the  way,  is  still  standing,  the 
number  of  inhabitants  ran  up  to  20,000.  It  is  now  prob- 
ably more  than  505000,  and  the  city  stands  thirty-first 
in  the  order  of  those  whose  clearing-house  returns  are 
reported  and  compared  weekly.  Hotels  abound  on  every 
side,  and  benevolent  institutions  and  parks  are  common. 
Churches,  of  course,  there  are  without  number,  and  now 
that  the  Government  has  interfered  in  the  protection  of 
so-called  Gentiles,  almost  all  religious  sects  are  represented. 

No  description  of  the  Mormon  Temple  can  convey  a 
reasonable  idea  of  its  grandeur.  Six  years  after  the  arrival 
of  the  pilgrims  at  Salt  Lake  City,  or  in  1853,  work  was 
commenced  on  this  immense  structure,  upon  which  at  least 
$7,000,000  have  been  expended.  Its  length  is  200  feet,  its 
width  100  feet,  and  its  height  the  same.  At  each  corner 
there  is  a  tower  220  feet  high.  The  thickness  of  the  walls 
is  10  feet,  and  these  are  built  of  snow-white  granite.  So 
conspicuous  and  massive  is  this  building,  that  it  can  be  seen 
from  the  mountains  fifty  and  even  a  hundred  miles  away. 

The  Tabernacle,  which -is  in  the  same  square  as  the 
Temple,  and  just  west  of  it,  is  aptly  described  by  Mr.  P. 
Donan  as  one  of  the  architectural  curios  of  the  world. 
It  looks  like  a  vast  terrapin  back,  or  half  of  a  prodigious 
egg-shell  cut  in  two  lengthwise,  and  is  built  wholly  of  iron, 
glass  and  stone.  It  is  250  feet  long,  150  feet  wide,  and 
100  feet  high  in  the  center  of  the  roof,  which  is  a  single 
mighty  arch,  unsupported  by  pillar  or  post,  and  is  said  to 
have  but  one  counterpart  on  the  globe.  The  walls  are 
12  feet  thick,  and  there  are  20  huge  double  doors  for 
entrance  and  exit.  The  Tabernacle  seats  13,462  people, 
and  its  acoustic  properties  are  so  marvelously  perfect  that  a 


98  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

whisper  or  the  dropping  of  a  pin  can  be  heard  all  over  it. 
The  organ  is  one  of  the  largest  and  grandest  toned  in 
existence,  and  was  built  of  native  woods,  by  Mormon 
workmen  and  artists,  at  a  cost  of  $100,000.  It  is  58  feet 
high,  has  57  stops,  and  contains  2,648  pipes,  some  of  them 
nearly  as  large  as  the  chimneys  of  a  Mississippi  River 
steamer. 

The  choir  consists  of  from  200  to  500  trained  voices, 
and  the  music  is  glorious  beyond  description.  Much  of 
it  is  in  minor  keys,  and  a  strain  of  plaintiveness  mingles 
with  all  its  majesty  and  power.  All  the  seats  are  free, 
and  tourists  from  all  parts  of  the  world  are  to  be  found 
among  the  vast  multitudes  that  assemble  at  every  service. 
Think  of  seeing  the  Holy  Communion  broken  bread,  and 
water  from  the  Jordan  River,  instead  of  wine,  administered 
to  from  6,000  to  8,000  communicants  at  one  time!  One 
can  just  fancy  the  old-time  Mormon  elders  marching  in, 
each  followed  by  his  five  or  twenty-five  wives  and  his  fifty 
or  a  hundred  children. 

Close  by  is  Assembly  Hall,  also  of  white  granite,  and  of 
Gothic  architecture.  It  has  seats  for  2,500  people,  and  is 
most  remarkable  for  the  costly  fresco  work  on  the  ceiling, 
which  illustrates  scenes  from  Mormon  history,  including 
the  alleged  discovery  of  the  golden  plates  and  their  delivery 
to  Prophet  Smith  by  the  Angel  Moroni. 

All  around  this  remarkable  city  are  sights  of  surpassing 
beauty.  Great  Salt  Lake  itself  ought  to  be  regarded  as 
one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world.  Although  an  inland  sea, 
with  an  immense  area  intervening  between  it  and  the 
nearest  ocean,  its  waters  are  much  more  brackish  and  salty 
than  those  of  either  the  Atlantic  or  the  Pacific,  and  its 
specific  gravity  is  far  greater.  Experts  tell  us  that  the 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THEIR  WIVES.       99 

percentage  of  salt  and  soda  is  six  tjmes  as  great  as  in  the 
waters  of  the  Atlantic,  and  one  great  advantage  of  living 
in  its  vicinity  is  the  abundance  of  good,  pure  salt,  which  is 
produced  by  natural  evaporation  on  its  banks.  It  would 
be  interesting,  if  it  were  possible,  to  explain  why  it  is  that 
the  water  is  so  salty.  Various  reasons  have  been  advanced 
from  time  to  time  for  this  phenomenon,  but  none  of  them 
are  sufficiently  practical  or  tangible  to  be  of  great  interest 
to  the  unscientific  reader. 

It  is  just  possible  that  this  wonderful  lake  may  in  course 
of  time  disappear  entirely.  Some  years  ago  its  width  was 
over  40  miles  on  an  average,  and  its  length  was  very  much 
greater.  Now  it  barely  measures  100  miles  from  end  to  end 
and  the  width  varies  from  10  to  60  miles.  In  the  depth  the 
gradual  curtailment  has  been  more  apparent.  At  one  time 
the  average  depth  was  many  hundred  feet,  and  several 
soundings  of  1,000  feet  were  taken,  with  the  result  reported, 
in  sailors'  parlance,  of  "No  bottom."  At  the  present  time 
the  depth  varies  from  40  to  100  feet,  and  appears  to  be 
lessening  steadily,  presumably  because  of  the  extraordinary 
deposit  of  solid  matter  from  the  very  dense  waters  with 
which  it  is  filled. 

The  lake  is  a  bathers'  paradise,  and  the  arrangements 
for  bathing  from  Garfield  Beach  are  like  everything  else  in 
the  land  of  the  Mormons,  extraordinary  to  a  degree.  In 
one  year  there  were  nearly  half  a  million  bathers  accommo- 
dated at  the  four  principal  resorts,  and  so  rapidly  are  these 
bathing  resorts  and  establishments  multiplied,  that  the  day 
is  not  distant  when  every  available  site  on  the  eastern  shore 
of  the  lake  will  be  appropriated  for  the  purpose.  As  a 
gentleman  who  has  bathed  in  this  lake  again  and  again 
says,  it  seems  preposterous  to  speak  of  the  finest  sea-bath- 


100  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

ing  on  earth  a  thousand  miles  from  the  ocean,  although  the 
bathing  in  Great  Salt  Lake  infinitely  surpasses  anything  of 
the  kind  on  either  the  Atlantic  or  Pacific  coasts. 

The  water  contains  many  times  more  salt,  and  much 
more  soda,  sulphur,  magnesia,  chlorine,  bromine  and 
potassium  than  any  ocean  water  on  the  globe.  It  is  power- 
ful in  medicinal  virtues,  curing  or  benefiting  many  forms 
of  rheumatism,  rheumatic  gout,  dyspepsia,  nervous  dis- 
orders and  cutaneous  diseases,  and  it  acts  like  magic  on  the 
hair  of  those  unfortunates  whose  tendencies  are  to  bald- 
headedness.  It  is  a  prompt  and  potent  tonic  and  invigorant 
of  body  and  mind,  and  then  there  is  no  end  of  fun  in 
getting  acquainted  with  its  peculiarities.  A  first  bath  in  it 
is  always  as  good  as  a  circus,  the  bather  being  his  or  her 
own  trick  mule.  The  specific  gravity  is  but  a  trifle  less 
than  that  of  the  Holy  Land  Dead  Sea. 

The  human  body  will  not  and  cannot  sink  in  it.  You 
can  walk  out  in  it  where  it  is  fifty  feet  deep,  and  your  body 
will  stick  up  out  of  it  like  a  fishing-cork  from  the  shoulders 
upward.  You  can  sit  down  in  it  perfectly  secure  where  it 
is  fathoms  deep.  Men  lie  on  top  of  it  with  their  arms 
under  their  heads  and  smoking  cigars.  Its  buoyancy  is 
indescribable  and  unimaginable.  Any  one  can  float  upon 
it  at  the  first  trial;  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  lie  down 
gently  upon  it  and  float. 

But  swimming  is  an  entirely  different  matter.  The 
moment  you  begin  to  "paddle  your  own  canoe,"  lively  and 
—  to  the  lookers-on — mirth-provoking  exercises  ensue. 
When  you  stick  your  hand  under  to  make  a  stroke  your 
feet  decline  to  stay  anywhere  but  on  top;  and  when,  after 
an  exciting  tussle  with  your  refractory  pedal  extremities, 
you  again  get  them  beneath  the  surface,  your  hands  fly  out 


THE  MOBMONS  AND  THE  IE  WIVE  8.     101 

with  the  splash  and  splutter  of  a  half-dozen  flutter  wheels. 
If,  on  account  of  your  brains  being  heavier  than  your 
heels,  you  chance  to  turn  a  somersault,  and  your  head  goes 
under,  your  heels  will  pop  up  like  a  pair  of  frisky,  dapper 
ducks. 

You  cannot  keep  more  than  one  end  of  yourself  under 
water  at  once,  but  you  soon  learn  how  to  wrestle  with  its 
novelties,  and  then  it  becomes  a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy 
for  any  summer  day.  The  water  is  delightful  to  the  skin, 
every  sensation  is  exhilarating,  and  one  cannot  help  feeling 
in  it  like  a  gilded  cork  adrift  in  a  jewel-rimmed  bowl  of 
champagne  punch.  In  the  sense  of  luxurious  ease  with 
which  it  envelops  the  bather,  it  is  unrivaled  on  earth. 
The  only  approximation  to  it  is  in  the  phosphorescent 
waters  of  the  Mosquito  Indian  coast. 

The  water  does  not  freeze  until  the  thermometric 
mercury  tumbles  down  to  eighteen  degrees  above  zero,  or 
fourteen  below  the  ordinary  freezing  point.  It  is  clear  as 
crystal,  with  a  bottom  of  snow-white  sand,  and  small 
objects  can  be  distinctly  seen  at  a  depth  of  twenty  feet. 
There  is  not  a  fish  or  any  other  living  thing  in  all  the  2,500 
to  3,000  square  miles  of  beautiful  and  mysterious  waters, 
except  the  yearly  increasing  swarms  of  summer  bathers. 
Not  a  shark,  or  a  stingaree,  to  scare  the  timid  swimmer  or 
floater;  not  a  minnow,  or  a  frog,  a  tadpole,  or  a  pollywog 
— nothing  that  lives,  moves,  swims,  crawls  or  wiggles.  It 
is  the  ideal  sea-bathing  place  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    INVASION    OF    OKLAHOMA. 

A  History  of  the  Indian  Nation  —  Early  Struggles  of  Oklahoma 
Boomers — Fight  between  Home-Seekers  and  Soldiers — Scenes  at 
the  Opening  of  Oklahoma  Proper — A  Miserable  Night  on  the 
Prairie — A  Race  for  Homes — Lawlessness  in  the  Old  Indian 
Territory. 

©KLAHOMA,  the  youngest  of  our  Territories,  is  in 
many  respects  also  the  most  interesting.  Many 
people  confound  Oklahoma  Territory  with  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory, but  the  two  are  separate  and  distinct,  the  former 
enjoying  Territorial  Government,  while  the  latter,  unfor- 
tunately, is  in  a  very  anomalous  condition,  so  far  as  the 
making  and  enforcing  of  laws  is  concerned. 

Up  to  within  a  few  years  Oklahoma  was  a  part  of  what 
was  then  the  "  Indian  Territory."  Now  it  has  been 
separated  from  what  may  be  described  as  its  original 
parent,  and  is  entirely  distinct.  It  contains  nearly  40,000 
square  miles,  and  has  a  population  of  about  a  quarter  of  a 
million,  exclusive  cf  about  18,000  Indians.  It  contains 
more  than  twice  as  many  people  to  the  square  mile  as 
many  of  the  Western  States  and  Territories,  and  is  in  a 
condition  of  thriving  prosperity,  which  is  extraordinary 9 
when  its  extreme  youth  as  a  Territory  is  considered. 

In  1888,  Oklahoma  was  the  largest  single  body  of 
unimproved  land  capable  of  cultivation  in  the  Southwest. 
It  was  nominally  farmed  by  Indian  tribes,  but  the  natural 
productiveness  of  the  soil,  and  the  immense  amount  of 

(102) 


THE  INVASION  OF  OKLAHOMA.        103 

land  at  their  disposal,  cultivated  habits  of  indolence,  and 
there  was  a  grievous  and  even  sinful  waste  of  fertility. 
To  the  south  was  Texas,  and  on  the  north,  Kansas,  both 
rich,  powerful  and  wealthy  States.  The  Indian  possessions 
lying  between  disturbed  the  natural  growth  and  trend  of 
empire. 

Seen  from  car  windows  only,  the  country  appeared 
inviting  to  the  eye.  It  was  known,  from  reports  of 
traders,  to  have  all  the  elements  of  agricultural  wealth. 

And  this. made  the  land-hungry  man  hungrier. 

The  era  of  the  "boomer"  began;  and  the  "boomer" 
-did  not  stop  until  he  had  inserted  an  opening  wedge,  in  the 
shape  of  the  purchase  and  opening  to  settlement  of  a  vast 
area  right  in  the  heart  of  the  prairie  wilderness.  When 
the  first  opening  took  place  it  seemed  as  though  the  supply 
would  be  in  excess  of  the  demand.  Not  so.  Every  acre — 
good,  bad,  or  indifferent — was  gobbled  up,  and,  like  as 
from  an  army  of  Oliver  Twists,  the  cry  went  up  for  more. 
Then  the  Iowa  and  Pottawatomie  reservations  were  placed 
on  the  market.  They  lasted  a  day  only,  and  the  still  un- 
satisfied crowd  began  another  agitation.  Resultant  of  this, 
a  third  bargain-counter  sale  took  place.  The  big  Cheyenne 
and  Arapahoe  country  was  opened  for  settlement.  Immi- 
grants poured  in,  and  now  every  quarter-section  that  is 
tillable  there  has  its  individual  occupant  and  owner. 

But  still  on  the  south  border  of  Kansas  there  camped 
a  landless  and  homeless  multitude.  They  looked  longingly 
over  the  fertile  prairies  of  the  Cherokee  Strip  country, 
stirred  the  camp-fire  embers  emphatically,  and  sent 
another  dispatch  to  Washington  asking  for  a  chance 
to  get  in.  Congress  heard  at  last,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1893  the  congestion  was  relieved. 


104  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

The  scenes  attending  the  wild  scramble  from  all  sides 
of  the  Strip  are  a  matter  of  history  and  do  not  require 
repetition.  Five  million  acres  were  quickly  taken  by 
30,000  farmers. 

The  old  proverb  or  adage,  which  states  that  the  man 
who  makes  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  one  grew  before 
is  a  public  benefactor,  would  seem  to  proclaim  that  Okla- 
homa is  peopled  with  philanthropists,  for  the  sturdy 
pioneers  who  braved  hardship  and  ridicule  in  order  to 
obtain  a  foothold  in  this  promised  land,  have,  in  five  or  six 
years,  completely  changed  the  appearance  of  the  country. 
A  larger  proportion  of  ground  in  this  youthful  Territory 
shows  that  it  is  a  sturdy  infant,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether 
in  any  part  of  the  United  States  there  has  been  more 
economy  in  land,  or  a  more  rapid  use  made  of  opportunities 
so  bountifully  provided  by  nature. 

Truth  is  often  much  stranger  than  fiction,  and  the  story 
of  the  invasion  of  Oklahoma  reads  like  one  long  romance. 
Many  men  lost  their  lives  in  the  attempt,  some  few  dying  by 
violence,  and  many  others  succumbing  to  disease  brought 
about  by  hardship.  Many  of  the  men  who  started  the 
agitation  to  have  Oklahoma  opened  for  settlement  by  white 
citizens  are  still  alive,  and  some  of  them  have  had  their 
heart's  desire  fulfilled,  and  now  occupy  little  homes  they 
have  built  in  some  favorite  nook  and  corner  of  their  much 
loved,  and  at  one  time  grievously  coveted,  country. 

Oklahoma  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Seminole 
Indians  by  the  ordinary  process,  and  remained  their 
alleged  home  until  about  thirty  years  ago.  In  1866,  the 
country  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  Government  for 
a  consideration,  and  in  1873,  it  was  surveyed  by  Federal 
officers,  and  section  lines  established  according  to  law. 


THE  INVASION  OF  OKLAHOMA         105 

It  was  the  natural  presumption  that  this  expense  was 
incurred  with  a  view  to  the  immediate  opening  of  the 
Territory  for  settlement.  For  various  reasons,  more  or 
less  valid,  and  more  or  less  the  result  of  influence  and 
possible  corruption,  the  actual  opening  of  the  country  was 
deferred  for  more  than  twenty  years  after  its  cession  to 
the  United  States  Government,  and  in  the  meantime  it 
occupied  a  peculiar  condition.  Immense  herds  of  cattle 
were  pastured  on  it,  and  bad  men  and  outlaws  from  various 
sections  of  the  country  awoke  reminiscences  of  biblical 
stories  about  cities  of  refuge  by  squatting  upon  it,  making 
a  living  by  hunting  and  indifferent  agriculture,  and  resting 
secure  'from  molestation  from  officers  of  the  law. 

To  remedy  this  anomaly,  and  to  secure  homes  for  them- 
selves and  families  in  what  was  reported  to  be  one  of  the 
most  fertile  tracts  in  the  world,  Captain  Payne  and  a 
number  of  determined  men  organized  themselves  into 
colonies.  There  has  always  been  a  mania  for  new  land, 
#nd  many  people  are  never  happy  unless  they  are  keeping 
pace  with  the  invasion  of  civilization  into  hitherto  unknown 
and  unopened  countries.  Many  who  joined  the  Payne 
movement  were  doubtless  roving  spirits  of  this  character, 
but  the  majority  of  them  were  bona  fide  home-seekers, 
who  believed  as  citizens  of  this  country  they  had  a  right  to 
quarter-sections  in  the  promised  land,  and  who  were 
determined  to  enforce  those  rights. 

No  matter,  however,  what  were  the  motives  of  the 
"boomers,"  as  they  were  called  from  the  first,  it  is  certain 
that  they  went  to  work  in  a  business-like  manner,  planned 
a  regular  invasion,  and  formed  a  number  of  colonies  or 
small  armies  for  the  purpose. 

We  will  follow  the  fortune  of  one  of  these  colonies  in 


106  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

order  to  show  what  extraordinary  difficulties  they  went 
through,  and  how  much  more  there  is  in  heaven  and  earth 
than  is  dreamt  of  in  our  humdrum  philosophy.  The  town 
of  Caldwell,  on  the  southern  line  of  Kansas,  was  the  camp 
from  which  the  first  colonists  started.  It  consisted  of  about 
forty  men,  and  about  100  women  and  children.  Each 
family  provided  itself  with  such  equipment  and  conveniences 
as  the  scanty  means  at  disposal  made  possible.  A  prairie 
schooner,  or  a  wagon  with  a  covering  to  protect  the 
inmates  from  the  weather  and  secure  a  certain  amount  of 
privacy  for  the  women  and  children,  was  an  indispensable 
item.  When  the  advance  was  made,  there  were  forty  such 
covered  wagons,  each  drawn  by  a  pair  of  horses  or  mules, 
and  each  containing  such  furniture  as  the  family  possessed. 
The  more  fortunate  ones  also  had  in  the  wagons  certain 
material  to  be  used  in  building  the  little  hut,  which  was  to 
be  their  home  until  they  could  earn  enough  to  build  a  more 
pretentious  residence. 

Eye  witnesses  describe  the  starting  of  the  colony  as  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  sights  ever  witnessed.  The  wagons 
advanced  in  single  file,  and  some  few  of  the  men  rode  on 
horseback  in  order  to  act  as  advance  guides  to  seek  suita- 
ble camping  grounds,  and  to  protect  the  occupants  of  the 
wagons  from  attack.  In  some  cases  one  or  two  cows  were 
attached  by  halters  to  the  rear  of  the  wagons,  and  there 
were  several  dogs  which  evidently  entered  heartily  into  the 
spirit  of  the  affair.  The  utmost  confidence  prevailed,  and 
hearty  cheers  were  given  as  the  cavalcade  crossed  the 
Kansas  State  line  and  commenced  its  long  and  dreary 
march  through  the  rich  blue  grass  of  the  Cherokee  Strip. 

The  journey  before  the  home-seekers  was  about  100 
miles,  and  at  the  slow  rate  of  progress  they  were  compelled 


THE  INVASION  OF  OKLAHOMA.        109 

to  make,  it  was  necessarily  a  long  and  arduous  task. 
Some  few  of  the  women  were  a  little  nervous,  but  the 
majority  had  thoroughly  fallen  in  with  the  general  feeling 
and  were  enthusiastic  in  the  extreme.  The  food  they  had 
with  them  was  sufficient  for  immediate  needs,  and  when 
they  camped  for  the  night,  the  younger  members  of  the 
party  generally  succeeded  in  adding  to  the  larder  by  hunt- 
ing and  fishing. 

We  have  all  heard  of  invading  armies  being  allowed  to 
proceed  on  their  march  unmolested  only  to  be  treated  with 
additional  severity  on  arriving  at  the  enemies'  camp.  So 
it  was  with  the  colonists.  They  got  through  with  very 
little  difficulty,  and  no  one  took  the  trouble  to  interfere 
with  their  progress.  Men  who  had  been  in  the  promised 
land  for  the  purpose,  had  located  a  suitable  spot  for  the 
formation  of  the  proposed  colony,  and  here  the  people 
were  directed.  One  of  the  party  had  some  knowledge  of 
land  laws,  and  after  a  long  hunt  he  succeeded  in  locating 
one  of  the  section  corners  established  by  the  recent 
Government  survey.  This  being  done,  quarter-sections 
were  selected  by  each  of  the  newcomers,  and  work  com- 
menced with  a  will.  Tents  and  huts  were  put  up  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  and  before  a  week  had  passed  the 
newcomers  were  fairly  well  settled.  They  even  selected  a 
town  site  and  built  castles  in  the  air  of  a  most  remarkable 
character. 

That  they  were  monarchs  of  all  they  surveyed  seemed 
to  be  obvious,  and  for  some  weeks  their  right  there  was 
none  to  dispute.  Then  by  degrees  the  cowboys  who  were 
herding  cattle  in  the  neighborhood  began  to  drop  hints  of 
possible  interference,  and  while  these  suggestions  were 
being  discussed  a  company  of  United  States  troops 


110  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

suddenly  appeared.  With  very  little  explanation  they 
arrested  every  man  in  the  colony  for  treason  and  con- 
spiracy, and  proceeded  to  drive  the  colonists  out  of  the 
country.  The  men  were  compelled  to  hitch  up  their 
horses,  and,  succumbing  to  force  of  numbers,  the  colonists 
sadly  and  wearily  advanced  to  Fort  Reno,  where  they  were 
turned  over  to  the  authorities.  After  being  kept  in  con- 
finement for  five  days  they  were  released,  and  told  to  get 
back  into  Kansas  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Government 
officials  saw  that  the  order  was  carried  out,  and  then  left 
the  colonists  to  themselves. 

The  men  lost  no  time  in  making  up  their  minds  to 
organize  a  second  attempt  to  establish  homes  for  their 
families,  and  once  more  they  made  the  march.  A  bitter 
disappointment  awaited  them,  for  they  found  that  their 
cabins  had  all  been  destroyed  and  they  had  to  commence 
work  over  again.  This  they  did,  and  they  had  scarcely  got 
themselves  comfortable  when  another  small  detachment 
of  troops  arrived  to  turn  them  out.  The  men  were  tied 
by  means  of  ropes  to  the  tail-ends  of  wagons,  and  driven 
like  cattle  across  the  prairie  to  the  military  fort.  For  a 
third  time  they  conducted  an  invasion,  and  for  the  third 
time  they  were  attacked  by  Government  troops. 

A  spirit  of  determination  had,  however,  come  over  the 
men  in  the  interval,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  resist  the 
onslaught  of  the  soldiers.  The  Lieutenant  in  charge  was 
astonished  at  the  attitude  assumed,  and  did  not  care  to 
assume  the  responsibility  of  ordering  his  men  to  fire,  as 
many  of  the  colonists  were  well  armed  and  were  undoubt- 
edly crack  shots.  He,  accordingly,  adopted  more  diplo- 
matic measures,  and,  by  establishing  somewhat  friendly 
relations,  got  into  close  quarters  with  the  settlers.  A 


THE  INVASION  OF  OKLAHOMA.        Ill 

rough  and  tumble  fight  with  fists  soon  afterwards  resulted, 
and  the  hard  fists  and  brawny  arms  of  the  settlers  proved 
too  much  for  the  regulars,  who  were  for  the  time  being 
driven  off. 

The  result  of  the  boomers*  victory  was  the  sending  of 
600  soldiers  to  dislodge  them,  and  it  being  impossible 
to  resist  such  a  force  as  this,  the  colonists  yielded  with 
the  best  grace  they  could  and  sadly  deserted  the  homes 
they  had  tried  so  hard  to  build  up.  Some  of  the  men  were 
actually  imprisoned  for  the  action  they  had  taken,  and  the 
colony  for  a  time  was  completely  broken  up.  The  example 
set  was  followed  by  several  others,  and  for  some  years  a 
conflict,  not  particularly  creditable  to  the  Government,  went 
on.  No  law  was  discovered  to  punish  the  boomers  and 
thus  put  a  final  end  to  the  invasions.  All  that  could  be 
done  was  to  drive  the  families  out  as  fast  as  they  went  in, 
a  course  of  action  far  more  calculated  to  excite  disorder 
than  to  quell  it.  Sometimes  the  soldiers  displayed  a  great 
deal  of  forbearance,  and  even  went  out  of  their  way  to 
help  the  women  and  children  and  reduce  their  sufferings 
to  the  smallest  possible  point.  Again,  they  were  some- 
times unduly  harsh,  and  more  than  one  infant  lost  its  life 
from  the  exposure  the  evictions  brought  about.  The 
soldiers  by  no  means  relished  the  work  given  them,  and 
many  of  them  complained  bitterly  that  it  was  no  part  of 
their  duty  to  fight  women  and  babies.  Still  they  were 
compelled  to  obey  orders  and  ask  no  questions. 

While  the  original  colonists,  or  boomers,  gained  little 
or  nothing  for  themselves  by  the  hardships  they  insisted  on 
encountering,  they  really  brought  about  the  opening  for 
settlement  of  Oklahoma.  About  the  year  1885  it  began  to 
be  generally  understood  that  the  necessary  proclamation 


112  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

would  be  issued,  and  from  all  parts  of  the  country  home- 
hunters  began  to  set  out  on  a  journey,  varying  in  length 
from  a  few  hundreds  to  several  thousand  miles.  The 
Kansas  border  towns  on  the  south  were  made  the  head- 
quarters for  the  home-seekers,  and  as  they  arrived  at 
different  points  they  were  astonished  to  find  that  others 
had  got  there  before  them.  In  the  neighborhood  of 
Arkansas  City,  particularly,  there  were  large  settlements  of 
boomers,  who  from  time  to  time  made  efforts  to  enter  the 
promised  land  in  advance  of  the  proclamation,  only  to  be 
turned  back  by  the  soldiers  who  were  guarding  every  trail. 
The  majority  of  the  newcomers  thought  it  better  to  obey 
the  law,  and  these  settled  down,  with  their  wagons  for 
their  homes,  and  sought  work  with  which  to  maintain  their 
families  until  the  proclamation  was  issued  and  the  country 
opened  to  them. 

It  was  a  long  and  dreary  wait.  The  children  were  sent 
to  school,  the  men  obtained  such  employment  as  was 
possible,  and  life  went  on  peacefully  in  some  of  the  most 
peculiar  settlements  ever  seen  in  this  country.  Finally  the 
Springer  Bill  was  passed  and  the  speedy  opening  of  at  least 
a  portion  of  Oklahoma  assured.  The  news  was  telegraphed 
to  the  four  winds  of  heaven,  and  where  there  had  been  one 
boomer  before  there  were  soon  fifty  or  a  hundred.  In  the 
winter  of  1888,  various  estimates  were  made  as  to  the 
number  of  people  awaiting  the  President's  proclamation, 
and  the  total  could  not  have  been  less  than  50,000  or 
60,000.  Finally  the  long-looked-for  document  appeared, 
and  Easter  Monday,  1889,  was  named  as  the  date  on 
which  the  section  of  Oklahoma  included  in  the  bill  was  to 
be  declared  open.  There  was  a  special  proviso  that  any  one 
entering  the  promised  and  mysterious  land  prior  to  noon 


THE  I^VASIOy  OF  OKLAHOMA.        113 

on  the  day  named,  would  be  forever  disqualified  from 
holding  land  in  it,  and  accordingly  the  opening  resolved 
itself  into  a  race,  to  commence  promptly  at  high  noon  on 
the  day  named. 

Seldom  has  such  a  remarkable  race  been  witnessed  in 
any  part  of  the  world.  The  principal  town  sites  were  on 
the  line  of  the  Sante  Fe  Railroad,  and  those  who  were 
seeking  town  lots  crowded  the  trains,  which  were  not 
allowed  to  enter  Oklahoma  until  noon.  All  available 
rolling  stock  was  brought  into  requisition  for  the  occasion, 
and  provision  was  made  for  hauling  thousands  of  home- 
seekers  to  the  towns  of  Guthrie  and  Oklahoma  City,  as 
well  as  to  intervening  points.  Before  daylight  on  the 
morning  of  the  opening,  the  approaches  of  the  railway 
station  at  Arkansas  City  were  blocked  with  masses  of 
humanity,  and  every  train  was  thronged  with  town  boomers, 
or  with  people  in  search  of  free  land  or  town  lots. 

The  author  was  fortunate  in  securing  a  seat  on  the  first 
train  which  crossed  the  Oklahoma  border,  and  which 
arrived  at  Guthrie  before  1  o'clock  on  the  day  of  the 
opening.  It  was  presumed  that  the  law  had  been  enforced, 
and  that  we  should  find  nothing  but  a  land-office  and  a  few 
officials  on  the  town  site. 

But  such  was  far  from  being  the  case.  Hundreds  of 
people  were  already  on  the  ground.  The  town  had  been 
platted  out,  streets  located,  and  the  best  corners  seized  in 
advance  of  the  law  and  of  the  regulations  of  the  pro- 
clamation. 

There  was  no  time  to  argue  with  points  of  law  or  order. 
Those  who  got  in  in  advance  of  the  law  were  of  a  deter- 
mined character,  and  their  number  was  so  great  that 
they  relied  on  the  confusion  to  evade  detection.  One  of 


114  MY  NATIVE   LAXD. 

their  number  told  an  interesting  story  to  the  writer, 
concerning  the  experience  he  had  gone  through.  He 
had  slipped  into  Oklahoma  prior  to  the  opening,  carrying 
with  him  enough  food  to  last  him  for  a  few  days.  He 
found  a  hiding  place  in  the  creek  bank,  and  there  laid 
until  a  few  minutes  before  noon  on  the  opening  day. 
When  his  watch  and  the  sun  both  told  him  that  it 
lacked  but  a  few  minutes  of  noon,  he  emerged  from  his 
hiding  place,  with  a  view  to  leisurely  locating  one  of  the 
best  corner  lots  in  the  town.  To  his  chagrin  he  saw  men 
advancing  from  every  direction,  and  he  was  made  aware  of 
the  fact  that  he  had  no  patent  on  his  idea,  which  had  been 
adopted  simultaneously  by  several  hundred  others.  He 
secured  a  good  lot  for  himself,  and  sold  it  before  his 
disqualification  on  account  of  being  too  "previous"  in  his 
entry  was  discovered. 

As  each  train  unloaded  its  immense  throngs  of  passen- 
gers, the  scene  was  one  that  must  always  baffle  description. 
The  town  site  was  on  rising  ground,  and  men,  and  even 
women,  sprang  from  the  moving  trains,  falling  headlong 
over  each  other,  and  then  rushing  up  hill  as  fast  as  their 
legs  would  carry  them,  in  the  mad  fight  for  town  lots  free 
of  charge.  The  town  site  was  entirely  occupied  within 
half  an  hour,  and  the  surrounding  country  in  every  direc- 
tion was  appropriated  for  additions  to  the  main  "city." 
Before  night  there  were  at  least  10,000  people  on  the 
ground,  many  estimates  placing  the  number  as  high  as 
20,000. 

Some  few  had  brought  with  them  blankets  and  pro- 
visions, and  these  passed  a  comparatively  comfortable 
night.  Thousands,  however,  had  no  alternative  but  to 
sleep  on  the  open  prairie,  hungry,  as  well  as  thirsty.  The 


THE  INVASION  OF  OKLAHOMA.        115 

water  in  the  creek  was  scarcely  fit  to  drink,  and  the  rail- 
road company  had  to  protect  its  water  tank  by  force  from 
the  thirsty  adventurers  and  speculators. 

The  night  brought  additional  terrors.  There  was  no 
danger  of  wild  animals  or  of  snakes,  for  the  stampede  of 
the  previous  day  had  probably  driven  every  living  thing 
miles  away,  with  the  solitary  exception  of  ants,  which,  in 
armies  ten  thousand  strong,  attacked  the  trespassers.  By 
morning  several  houses  had  been  erected,  and  the  arrival  of 
freight  trains  loaded  with  provisions  not  only  enabled 
thoughtful  caterers  to  make  small  fortunes,  but  also 
relieved  the  newcomers  of  much  of  the  distress  they  had 
been  suffering.  Within  a  week  the  streets  were  well 
defined,  and  houses  were  being  built  in  every  direction,  and 
within  six  months  there  were  several  brick  buildings  erected 
and  occupied  for  business  and  banking  purposes. 

The  process  of  building  up  was  one  of  the  quickest  on 
record,  and  Guthrie,  like  its  neighbor  on  the  south,  Okla- 
homa City,  is  to-day  a  large,  substantial  business  and 
financial  center.  Those  of  our  readers  who  crossed  Okla- 
homa by  rail,  even  as  lately  as  the  winter  of  1888,  will 
remember  that  they  saw  nothing  but  open  prairie,  with 
occasional  belts  of  timber.  There  was  not  so  much  as  a 
post  to  mark  the  location  of  either  of  these  two  large 
cities,  nor  was  there  a  plow  line  to  define  their  limits. 

In  no  other  country  in  the  world  could  results  such  as 
these  have  been  accomplished.  The  amount  of  courage 
required  to  invest  time  and  money  in  a  prospective  town  in 
a  country  hitherto  closed  against  white  citizens  is  enor- 
mous, and  it  takes  an  American,  born  and  bred,  to  make 
the  venture.  The  Oklahoma  cities  are  not  boom  towns, 
laid  out  on  paper  and  advertised  as  future  railroad  and 


116  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

business  centers ;  from  the  first  moment  of  their  existence 
they  have  been  practical,  useful  trading  centers,  and  every 
particle  of  growth  they  have  made  has  been  of  a  permanent 
and  lasting  character. 

But  if  the  race  to  the  Oklahoma  town  sites  was  inter- 
esting, the  race  to  the  homesteads  was  sensational  and 
bewildering.  All  around  the  coveted  land,  anxious,  deter- 
mined men  were  waiting  for  the  word  "Go,"  in  order  to 
rush  forward  and  select  a  future  home.  In  some  instances 
the  race  was  made  in  the  wagons,  but  in  many  cases  a 
solitary  horseman  acted  as  pioneer  and  galloped  ahead,  in 
order  to  secure  prior  claim  to  a  coveted,  well-watered 
quarter-section.  Shortly  before  the  hour  of  noon,  a 
number  of  boomers  on  the  northern  frontier  made  an 
effort  to  advance  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  the  soldiers  on 
guard.  These  latter  were  outnumbered  ten  to  one,  and 
could  not  attempt  to  hold  back  the  home-seekers  by  force. 
Seeing  this  fact,  the  young  Lieutenant  in  charge  addressed 
a  few  pointed  sentences  to  the  would-be  violators  of  the 
law.  He  knew  most  of  the  men  personally,  and  was  aware 
that  several  of  them  were  old  soldiers.  Addressing  these 
especially,  he  appealed  to  their  patriotism,  and  asked 
whether  it  was  logical  for  men  who  had  borne  arms  for 
their  country  to  combine  to  break  the  laws,  which  they 
themselves  had  risked  their  lives  to  uphold.  This  appeal 
to  the  loyalty  of  the  veterans  had  the  desired  effect,  and 
what  threatened  to  be  a  dangerous  conflict  resulted  in  a 
series  of  hearty  hand-shakes. 

A  mighty  shout  went  up  at  noon,  and  the  deer,  rabbits 
and  birds,  which  for  years  had  held  undisputed  possession 
of  the  promised  land,  were  treated  to  a  surprise  of  the 
first  water.  Horses  which  had  never  been  asked  to  run 


THE  INVASION  OF  OKLAHOMA.        117 

before,  were  now  compelled  to  assume  a  gait  hitherto 
unknown  to  them.  Wagons  were  upset,  horses  thrown 
down,  and  all  sorts  of  accidents  happened.  One  man,  who 
had  set  his  heart  on  locating  on  the  Canadian  Kiver  near 
the  Old  Payne  Colony,  rode  his  horse  in  that  direction,  and 
urged  the  beast  on  to  further  exertions,  until  it  could 
scarcely  keep  on  its  feet.  Finally  he  reached  one  of  the 
creeks  running  into  the  river.  The  jaded  animal  just 
managed  to  drag  its  rider  up  the  steep  bank  of  the  creek, 
and  it  then  fell  dead.  Its  rider  had  no  time  for  regrets. 
He  had  still  four  or  five  miles  to  cover,  and  he  commenced 
to  run  as  fast  as  his  legs  would  carry  him.  His  over- 
estimate of  his  horse's  powers  of  endurance,  and  his 
under-estimate  of  the  distance  to  be  covered,  lost  him  his 
coveted  home ;  for  when  he  arrived  a  large  colony  had  got 
in  ahead  of  him  from  the  western  border,  and  there  were 
two  or  three  claimants  to  every  homestead. 

In  other  cases  there  were  neck  and  neck  races  for 
favored  locations,  and  sometimes  it  would  have  puzzled  an 
experienced  referee  to  have  determined  which  was  really 
the  winner  of  the  race.  Compromises  were  occasionally 
agreed  to,  and  although  there  was  a  good  deal  of  bad 
temper  and  recrimination,  there  was  very  little  violence, 
and  the  men  whose  patience  had  been  sorely  taxed, 
behaved  themselves  admirably,  earning  the  respect  of  the 
soldiers  who  were  on  guard  to  preserve  order.  The  excite- 
ment and  uproar  was  kept  up  long  after  night-fall.  In 
their  feverish  anxiety  to  retain  possession  of  the  homes  for 
which  they  had  waited  and  raced,  hundreds  of  men  stayed 
up  all  night  to  continue  the  work  of  hut  building,  knowing 
that  nothing  would  help  them  so  much  in  pressing  their 
claims  for  a  title  as  evidence  of  work  on  bona  fide  improve- 


118  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

ments.  They  kept  on  day  after  day,  and,  late  in  the 
season  as  it  was,  many  of  the  newcomers  raised  a  good 
crop  that  year. 

The  opening  of  other  sections  of  the  old  Indian  Terri- 
tory, now  included  in  Oklahoma,  took  place  two  or  three 
years  later,  when  the  scenes  we  have  briefly  described  Were 
repeated.  To-day,  Oklahoma  extends  right  up  to  the 
southern  Kansas  line,  and  the  Cherokee  Strip,  on  whose 
rich  blue  grass  hundreds  of  thousands  of  cattle  have  been 
fattened,  is  now  a  settled  country,  with  at  least  four  fami- 
lies to  every  square  mile,  and  with  a  number  of  thriving 
towns  and  even  large  cities.  At  the  present  time  the 
question  of  Statehood  for  the  youngest  of  our  Territories 
is  being  actively  debated.  No  one  disputes  the  fact  that 
the  population  and  wealth  is  large  enough  to  justify  the 
step,  and  the  only  question  at  issue  is  whether  the  whole 
of  the  Indian  Territory  should  be  included  in  the  new 
State,  or  whether  the  lands  of  the  so-called  civilized  tribes 
should  be  excluded. 

The  lawlessness  which  has  prevailed  in  some  portions 
of  the  Indian  Territory  is  held  to  be  a  strong  argument  in 
favor  of  opening  up  all  the  lands  for  settlement.  At 
present  the  Indians  own  immense  tracts  of  land  under  very 
peculiar  conditions.  A  large  number  of  white  men,  many 
of  them  respectable  citizens,  and  many  of  them  outlaws 
and  refugees  from  justice,  have  married  fair  Cherokee, 
Choctaw  and  Creek  girls,  and  these  men,  while  not  recog- 
nized by  the  heads  of  the  tribes,  are  able  to  draw  from  the 
Government,  in  the  names  of  their  wives,  the  large  sums 
of  money  from  time  to  time  distributed.  Advocates  of 
Statehood  favor  the  allotment  to  each  Indian  of  his  share 
of  the  land,  and  the  purchase  by  the  Government  of  the 


THE  INVASION-  OF  OKLAHOMA.        119 

immense  residue,  which  could  then  be  opened  for  settle- 
ment. 

Until  this  question  is  settled,  the  anomaly  will  continue 
of  civilization  and  the  reverse  existing  side  by  side.  Some 
of  the  Indians  have  assumed  the  manners,  dress,  virtues 
and  vices  of  their  white  neighbors,  in  which  case  they  have 
generally  dropped  their  old  names  and  assumed  something 
reasonable  in  their  place.  But  many  of  the  red  men  who 
adhere  to  tradition,  and  who  object  to  innovation,  still  stick 
to  the  names  given  them  in  their  boyhood.  Thus,  in  travel- 
ing across  the  Indian  Territory,  Indians  with  such  names 
.as  "Hears-Something-Every where/'  "Knows-Where-He- 
Walks , "  "  Bear-in-the-Cloud , "  "  Goose-O  ver-the-Hill , ' ' 
"Shell-on-the-Neck,"  "Sorrel  Horse,"  "White  Fox," 
"Strikes-on-the-Top-of-the-Head,"  and  other  equally  far- 
fetched and  ridiculous  terms  and  cognomens. 

Every  one  has  heard  of  Chief  "Rain-in-the-Face,"  a 
characteristic  Indian,  whose  virtues  and  vices  have  both 
been  greatly  exaggerated  from  time  to  time.  A  picture  is 
given  of  this  representative  of  a  rapidly  decaying  race,  and 
of  the  favorite  pony  upon  which  he  has  ridden  thousands 
of  miles,  and  which  in  its  early  years  possessed  powers  of 
endurance  far  beyond  what  any  one  who  has  resided  in 
countries  removed  from  Indian  settlements  can  have  any 
idea  or  conception  of. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

COWBOYS REAL    AND    IDEAL. 

A  Much  Maligned  Class — The  Cowboy  as  he  Is,  and  as  he  is  Supposed' 
to  be — Prairie  Fever  and  how  it  is  Cured — Life  on  the  Ranch 
Thirty  Years  Ago  and  Now — Singular  Fashions  and  Changes  of 
Costume — Troubles  Encountered  by  would-be  Bad  Men. 

BMONG  the  thoroughly  American  types  of  humanity, 
none  is  more  striking  or  unique  than  the  cowboy. 
This  master  of  horsemanship  and  subduer  of  wild  and 
even  dangerous  cattle,  has  been  described  in  so  many  ways 
that  a  great  difference  of  opinion  exists  as  to  what  he  was, 
and  what  he  is.  We  give  a  picture  of  a  cowboy  of  to-day > 
and  will  endeavor  to  show  in  what  important  respects  he 
differs  from  the  cowboy  of  fiction,  and  even  of  history. 

Sensational  writers  have  described  the  cowboy  as  a 
thoroughly  bad  man,  and,  moreover,  ag  one  who  delights  in 
the  word  "bad,"  and  regards  it  as  a  sort  of  diploma  or 
qualification.  Travelers  over  the  region  in  which  the 
cowboy  used  to  be  predominant  give  him  a  very  different 
character,  and  speak  of  him  as  a  hard-working,  honest 
citizen,  generous  to  a  fault,  courteous  to  women  and  aged 
or  infirm  men,  but  inclined  to  be  humorous  at  the  expense 
of  those  who  are  strong  and  big  enough  to  return  a  joke, 
or  resent  it,  if  they  so  prefer. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  cowboy  in  two  tenses :  the 
present  and  the  past.  Strictly  speaking,  we  should, 
perhaps,  have  only  used  one,  for  many  of  the  best  judges- 

(120) 


COWBOYS— Real  and   Ideal.  121 

say  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  cowboy  in  this  day  and 
generation.  He  flourished  in  all  his  glory  in  the  days  of 
immense  ranges,  when  there  was  an  abundance  of  elbow 
room  for  both  man  and  beast,  and  when  such  modern 
interferences  with  the  cattle  business  as  the  barb-wire  fence 
did  not  exist.  The  work  of  cattle  herding  and  feeding 
to-day  certainly  differs  in  a  most  remarkable  manner  from 
that  of  thirty  and  even  twenty  years  ago,  and  the  man  has 
naturally  changed  with  his  work.  Now,  the  cowboy  is,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  a  farm  hand.  He  feeds  the 
stock,  drives  it  to  water  when  necessary,  and  goes  to  the 
nearest  market  town  to  dispose  of  surplus  products,  with 
all  the  system  and  method  of  a  thoroughly  domesticated 
man.  Formerly  he  had  charge  of  hundreds,  and  perhaps 
thousands,  of  branded  cattle,  which  ranged  at  will  over 
boundless  prairies,  and  the  day's  work  was  frequently 
varied  by  a  set-to  with  some  unfriendly  Indians  or  some 
exceptionally  daring  cattle  thieves. 

The  very  nature  of  his  work  used  to  make  the  cowboy 
somewhat  desperate  in  his  habits,  and  apt  to  be  suspicious 
of  newcomers.  lie  was  never  such  a  terrible  individual  as 
Jias  been  frequently  stated  in  print.  His  work  confined 
him  to  a  few  frontier  States  and  Territories,  and  hence  he 
was  a  very  convenient  person  to  ridicule  and  decry.  The 
man  who  met  the  average  cowboy  face  to  face,  generally 
learned  to  respect  him,  and  speedily  appreciated  the  fact 
that  it  paid  to  be  at  least  civil.  Writers  who  never  went 
within  500  miles  of  the  nearest  cattle  ranch  or  cowboy's 
home,  treated  him  with  less  courtesy  and  described  him  in 
nil  sorts  of  terms. 

Dime  literature,  with  its  yellow  covers  and  sensational 
pictures  of  stage  robberies  and  the  like,  has  always 


122  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

libeled  the  American  cowboy  to  a  most  outrageous  extent. 
As  a  result  of  the  misapprehensions  thus  created,  what  is 
known  as  cowboy  or  prairie  fever  is  quite  a  common 
disease  among  youths  who  are  trying  to  raise  a  mustache 
for  a  first  time.  The  feats  of  recklessness,  the  absolute 
disregard  of  conventionality  and  the  general  defiance 
attributed  to  the  man  who  herds  cattle  on  the  prairie , 
seem  to  create  a  longing  on  the  part  of  sensationally 
inclined  youths,  and  many  of  these  have  cut  their  teeth 
and  learned  their  lesson  in  a  very  different  manner  from 
what  was  expected. 

Let  us  imagine  for  a  moment  the  experiences  of  the 
young  man  from  the  East,  who  has  convinced  himself,  by 
careful  reasoning  and  reading,  that  nature  intended  him  to 
shine  in  the  West.  It  is  probable  that  he  came  to  this 
most  important  conclusion  many  years  before,  and  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  his  first  cowboy  enthusiasm  was  fed  by 
attacks  upon  the  cat,  with  the  nearest  approach  he  could 
obtain  to  a  rawhide  whip.  From  this  primitive  experience, 
sensational  literature,  and  five  and  ten-cent  illustrated 
descriptions  of  the  adventures  of  "Bill,  the  Plunger, " 
and  "Jack,  the  Indian  Slayer,"  completed  the  education^ 
until  the  boy,  or  young  man,  as  the  case  may  be,  deter- 
mines that  the  hour  has  arrived  for  him  to  cast  away 
childish  things  and  become  a  genuine  bad  man  of  the 
West. 

Just  how  he  gets  half  way  across  the  continent  is  a 
matter  of  detail.  Sometimes  the  misguided  youth  is  too 
proud  to  beg  and  too  honest  to  steal,  in  which  case  he 
probably  saves  up  his  pocket  money  and  buys  a  cheap 
ticket.  The  more  romantic  and  strictly  correct  course  to 
adopt  is  to  start  out  without  a  dollar,  and  to  beat  one's- 


COWBOYS— Real  and   Ideal.  123 

way  across  the  continent,  so  as  to  be  thoroughly  entitled  to 
recognition  on  the  prairie.  Many  a  young  man  who  has 
commenced  the  pilgrimage  towards  glorified  badness,  has 
had  the  fever  knocked  out  of  him  before  advancing  100 
miles,  but  others  have  succeeded  in  getting  through,  and 
have  arrived  in  Texas,  Wyoming  or  Montana,  as  the  case 
may  have  been,  thoroughly  convinced  of  their  own  ability 
to  hold  their  own  in  all  company. 

The  disappointment  that  awaits  the  adventurous  one  is 
almost  too  great  to  be  expressed  in  words.  If  the  cowboys 
were  one-half  as  bad  as  they  are  painted,  they  would 
proceed  to  demonstrate  their  right  to  an  evil  reputation  by 
murdering  the  newcomer,  and  stealing  his  wearing  apparel 
and  any  money  he  might  happen  to  have  with  him. 
Instead  of  doing  this,  the  cowboy  generally  looks  with 
amusement  on  the  individual  who  has  come  so  many  miles 
to  join  him.  The  greeting  is  not  of  the  exuberant  character 
expected,  and  frequently  the  heart  of  the  newcomer  is 
broken  by  being  told  to  go  back  to  his  mammy  and  spend 
a  few  years  more  in  the  nursery.  A  runaway  tenderfoot 
just  fresh  from  school  is  not  wanted  on  the  cattle  ranch, 
and  although  Western  farmers  are  too  good-natured  to 
resent  very  severely  the  liberty  taken,  they  never  flatter 
the  newcomer  by  holding  out  any  inducements  or  making 
any  prophecies  as  to  his  future. 

The  writer  met  a  runaway  enthusiast  of  this  character 
a  few  years  ago.  His  destination  was  the  extreme  West. 
As  he  did  not  know  himself  the  State  to  which  he  was 
bound,  he  presumed  that  no  one  else  did.  When  found, 
he  had  got  as  far  as  Kansas  City,  and  hunger  and  lack  of 
a  place  where  he  could  sleep  in  comfort  had  cooled  his 
ardor  and  inaugurated  a  vigorous  attack  of  home-sickness. 


124  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

As  the  ideal  cowboy  life  does  not  provide  for  feather  beds 
or  meals  served  in  courses,  it  was  suggested  to  the  lad  that 
possibly  he  was  having  a  good  experience  in  advance,  and 
getting  himself  accustomed  to  the  privations  of  the  life  he 
had  decided  to  adopt. 

This  logic  did  not  commend  itself  at  all  to  the  runaway, 
whose  sole  ambition  now  was  to  borrow  enough  money  to 
telegraph  a  message  of  penitence  to  his  father.  A  small 
sum  necessary  for  the  purpose  was  given  him,  and  the 
dispatch  sent.  Within  an  hour  an  answer  was  received 
and  money  transmitted  by  wire  to  supply  the  lad  with  a 
ticket  for  his  home,  where  it  is  exceedingly  probable  what 
little  cowboy  fever  he  had  left  in  him  was  speedily 
removed  in  old-fashioned  and  regulation  manner. 

The  cowboy  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  cattle  baron. 
Ten  or  twelve  years  ago,  when  a  great  deal  of  money  was 
made  out  of  raising  cattle,  there  was  an  invasion  of  the 
prairie  States  by  men  who  knew  nothing  whatever  about 
cattle  raising,  but  who  had  made  up  their  minds  to  secure 
a  fortune  by  raising  steers.  They  took  with  them  as 
inconsistent  ideas  as  did  the  youth  in  search  of  adventure. 
Often  they  carried  large  sums  of  money,  which  they 
invested  very  lavishly  in  business,  and  they  also  took  with 
them  ridiculously  fine  clothes,  patent  leather  boots,  velve- 
teen jackets,  and  other  evidences  of  luxury,  which  made 
them  very  unpopular  and  very  ridiculous  in  their  new 
homes.  Nine-tenths  of  these  called  themselves  * 'cattle 
barons,"  and  about  the  same  proportion  obtained  a  great 
deal  of  experience  but  very  little  money,  while  trying  to 
revolutionize  the  cattle  business. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  own  cattle  at  all  to  be  a  cowboy, 
although  many  members  of  this  interesting  profession  own 


COWBOYS— Real  and   Ideal.  127 

a  few  beasts  of  their  own  and  are  allowed  to  have  them 
graze  with  the  other  stock  on  the  ranch.  Generally 
speaking,  the  term  used  to  be  applied  to  all  those  who 
were  engaged  in  handling  the  cattle,  and  in  getting  them 
together  on  the  occasion  of  the  annual  round-ups.  The 
old-time  cowboy  did  not  have  a  very  high  reputation,  nor 
was  he  always  looked  upon  quite  as  leniently  as  his  sur- 
roundings demanded.  About  twenty  years  ago,  a  well- 
known  cattleman  wrote  the  following  description  of  the 
cowboy  and  the  life  he  led : 

"If  any  oi:c  imagines  that  the  life  of  a  cowboy  or 
ranchman  is  one  of  ease  and  luxury,  or  his  diet  a  feast  of 
fat  things,  a  brief  trial  will  dispel  the  illusion,  as  is  mist  by 
the  sunshine.  True,  his  life  is  one  of  more  or  less  excite- 
ment or  adventures,  and  much  of  it  is  spent  in  the  saddle, 
yet  it  is  a  hard  life,  and  his  daily  fare  will  never  give  the 
gout.  Corn  bread,  mast-fed  bacon,  and  coffee,  constitute 
nine-tenths  of  their  diet;  occasionally  they  have  fresh 
beef,  and  less  often  they  have  vegetables  of  any  descrip- 
tion. They  do  their  own  cooking  in  the  rudest  and  fewest 
possible  vessels,  often  not  having  a  single  plate  or  knife 
and  fork,  other  than  their  pocket  knife,  but  gather  around 
the  camp-kettle  in  true  Indian  style,  and  with  a  piece  of 
bread  in  one  hand,  proceed  to  fish  up  a  piece  of  'sow 
belly/  and  dine  sumptuously,  not  forgetting  to  stow  away 
one  or  more  quarts  of  the  strongest  coffee  imaginable, 
without  sugar  or  cream.  Indeed,  you  would  hesitate,  if 
judging  it  from  appearance,  whether  to  call  it  coffee  or 
ink.  Of  all  the  vegetables,  onions  and  potatoes  are  the 
most  desired  and  the  oftenest  used,  when  anything  more 
than  the  'old  regulation'  is  had.  Instead  of  an  oven, 
fireplace  or  cooking  stove,  a  rude  hole  is  dug  in  the  ground 

8 


128  MY'  NATIVE  LAND. 

and  a  fire  made  therein,  and  the  coffee  pot,  the  camp 
kettle  and  the  skillet  are  his  only  culinary  articles  used. 

"The  life  of  the  cowboy  is  one  of  considerable  daily 
danger  and  excitement.  It  is  hard  and  full  of  exposure, 
but  is  wild  and  free,  and  the  young  man  who  has  long  been 
a  cowboy  has  but  little  taste  for  any  other  occupation. 
He  lives  hard,  works  hard,  has  but  few  comforts,  and 
fewer  necessities.  He  has  but  little,  if  any,  taste  for 
reading.  He  enjoys  a  coarse  practical  joke,  or  a  smutty 
story ;  loves  danger,  but  abhors  labor  of  the  common 
kind;  never  tires  of  riding,  never  wants  to  walk,  no 
matter  how  short  the  distance  he  desires  to  go.  He%would 
rather  fight  with  pistols  than  pray;  loves  tobacco,  liquor 
and  woman  better  than  any  other  trinity.  His  life 
borders  nearly  upon  that  of  an  Indian.  If  he  reads  any- 
thing, it  is  in  most  cases  a  blood  and  thunder  story  of  the 
sensational  style.  He  enjoys  his  pipe,  and  relishes  a 
practical  joke  on  his  comrades,  or  a  tale  where  abounds 
.animal  propensity. 

"His  clothes  are  few  and  substantial,  scarce  in  number 
and  often  of  a  gaudy  pattern.  The  *  sombrero'  and  large 
spurs  are  inevitable  accompaniments.  Every  house  has 
the  appearance  of  lack  of  convenience  and  comfort,  but 
the  most  rude  and  primitive  modes  of  life  seem  to  be 
satisfactory  to  the  cowboy.  His  wages  range  from  $15.00 
to  $20.00  a  month  in  specie.  Mexicans  can  be  employed 
for  about  $12.00  per  month.  The  cowboy  has  few  wants 
and  fewer  necessities,  the  principal  one  being  a  full  supply 
of  tobacco. 

"We  will  here  say  for  the  benefit  of  our  Northern 
readers,  that  the  term  'ranch*  is  used  in  the  Southwest 
instead  of  'farm,'  the  ordinary  laborer  is  termed  a  *  cowboy/ 


COWBOYS— Real  and   Ideal.  129 

the  horse  used  a  'cow  horse,'  and  the  herd  of  horses  a 
'cavvie  yard.' 

"The  fame  of  Texas  as  a  stock-growing  country  went 
abroad  in  the  land,  and  soon  after  her  admission  to  the 
Union,  unto  her  were  turned  the  eyes  of  many  young  men 
born  and  reared  in  the  older  Southern  States,  who  were 
poor  in  this  world's  goods,  but  were  ambitious  to  make 
for  themselves  a  home  and  a  fortune.  Many  of  this  class 
went  to  Texas,  then  a  new  and  comparatively  thin  and 
unsettled  country,  and  began  in  humblest  manner,  perhaps 
for  nominal  wages?,  to  lay  the  foundation  for  future  wealth 
and  success." 

This  is  a  very  severe  description,  and  relates  to  a  class 
of  men  who  were  found  in  the  wildest  parts  of  Texas 
shortly  after  the  war.  It  certainly  does  not  adequately 
describe  the  cowboy  of  the  last  twenty  years.  Another 
writer,  who  was  himself  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  engaged  in  the  work  of  herding  cattle,  gives  a 
much  fairer  description  of  the  cowboy.  He  divides  those 
entitled  to  this  name  into  three  classes,  and  argues  that 
there  is  something  noble  about  the  name.  He  also  claims 
that  in  view  of  the  peculiar  associations,  privations,  sur- 
roundings and  temptations  of  the  cowboy,  he  is  entitled  to 
much  credit  for  the  way  in  which  he  has  retained  the 
best  characteristics  of  human  nature,  in  spite  of  his 
absence  from  the  refining  influences  of  civilization. 

According  to  this  authority,  the  first  class  of  cowboys 
include  the  genuine,  honest  worker  on  the  prairie,  the  man 
who  has  due  respect  for  the  rights  of  all.  He  is  scrupu- 
lously honest,  but  yet  charitable  enough  to  look  leniently 
on  the  falling  away  from  grace  of  his  less  scrupulous 
brothers,  and  he  is  loyal  to  a  remarkable  extent  to  every 


130  MY  XATIVE  LAND. 

one  who  has  a  right  to  claim  his  friendship.  In  the  second 
class  is  placed  the  less  careful  cowboy,  who  is  not  quite  so 
strict  in  his  moral  views,  although  no  one  would  like  to 
class  him  as  a  thief.  The  story  is  told  of  the  Irishman 
who  found  a  blanket  bearing  upon  it  the  Government 
mark  "U.  S."  Paddy  examined  the  blanket  carefully  and 
on  finding  the  mark  shouted  out:  "U.  for  Patrick  and  S. 
for  McCarty.  Och,  but  I'm  glad  I've  found  me  blanket. 
Me  fayther  told  me  that  eddication  was  a  good  thing,  and 
now  I  know  it ;  but  for  an  eddication  I  never  would  have 
found  the  blanket." 

Reasoning  of  this  kind  is  quite  common  among  this 
second  class  or  division  of  the  cowboy.  It  is  not  sug- 
gested that  he  is  exactly  a  thief,  because  he  would  scorn 
the  acts  of  the  city  light-fingered  gentleman,  who  asks  you 
the  time  of  day,  and  then,  by  a  little  sleight-of-hand, 
succeeds  in  introducing  your  watch  to  a  too  obliging  and 
careless  pawnbroker  at  the  next  corner.  But  he  is  a  little 
reckless  in  his  ideas  of  what  lawyers  call  the  rights  of 
individuals,  and  he  is  a  little  too  much  inclined,  at  times, 
to  think  that  trifles  that  are  not  his  own  ought  to  be  so. 

The  writer,  to  whom  we  are  referring,  includes  in  class 
three  the  typical  cowboy,  and  the  man  used  by  the  fiction 
writer  as  a  basis  for  his  exaggerations  and  romances.  Into 
this  class  drifts  the  cowboy  who  is  absolutely  indifferent  as 
to  the  future,  and  who  is  perfectly  happy  if  he  has  enough 
money  to  enable  him  to  buy  a  fancy  bridle  or  a  magnificent 
saddle.  These  are  about  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  his 
ideas  of  luxury ;  although  he  enjoys  a  good  time,  he  looks 
upon  it  rather  as  incidental  and  essential  to  pleasure.  A 
steady  position  at  a  small  salary,  a  reasonable  amount  to 
do,  and  fairly  good  quarters,  constitute  all  he  looks  for  or 


COWBOYS— Real  and   Ideal.  131 

expects.  He  is  perfectly  honest  with  all  his  indifference. 
He  is  often  whole-souled  and  big-hearted,  constantly  allows 
himself  to  be  imposed  upon,  but  has  an  inconvenient  habit 
of  occasionally  standing  up  for  his  rights  and  resenting  too 
much  oppression.  He  is  exceedingly  good-natured,  and 
will  often  drive  some  stray  cattle  several  miles  for  the  con- 
venience of  a  perfect  stranger,  and  a  -man  to  whom  he 
owes  no  obligation  whatever. 

It  is  said  that  such  a  thing  as  distress  among  the  rela- 
tives or  descendants  of  cowboys  was  impossible,  because 
of  the  delightful  tenderheartedness  of  men  with  rough 
exterior  and  whose  daily  life  makes  them  appear  hardened. 
The  working  cowboy  is  seldom  rich,  even  in  the  most 
generous  acceptation  of  the  term.  The  small  wages  he 
earns  are  expended  almost  entirely  on  decorations  for  his 
horse  or  himself.  Even  when  he  succeeds  in  saving  a  few 
dollars,  the  money  seems  to  burn  a  hole  in  his  pocket,  and 
he  generally  lends  it  to  some  one  in  greater  need  than 
himself.  But  every  man  working  on  a  ranch  has  some- 
thing to  spare  for  the  widow  or  children  of  a  deceased 
brother,  especially  if  he  was  killed  in  the  course  of  his 
duties.  An  instance  of  this  generous-hearted  disposition 
might  well  be  given,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  rule 
is  invariable,  and  that  a  promise  made  to  a  dying  man  in 
this  respect  is  never  forgotten. 

Leaving  for  a  moment  the  personal  characteristics  of 
the  much-maligned  cowboy,  who  has  been  described  as 
everything  from  a  stage-robber  to  a  cutthroat,  we  may 
with  profit  devote  a  little  space  to  a  consideration  of  his 
attire  as  it  was,  and  as  it  is.  In  the  picture  of  a  cowboy 
in  this  work  the  modern  dress  is  shown  very  accurately. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  man  is  dressed  conveniently  for  his 


132  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

work,  and  that  he  has  none  of  the  extraordinary  handicaps 
to  progress,  in  the  way  of  grotesque  decorations,  which  he 
had  been  thought  to  believe  were,  at  least,  part  and  parcel 
of  the  cowboy's  wardrobe  and  get  up.  Certainly  at  the 
present  time  men  engaged  in  feeding  and  raising  cattle  are 
almost  indifferent  as  to  their  attire,  wearing  anything 
suitable  for  their  purpose,  and  making  their  selections 
rather  with  a  view  to  the  durability,  than  the  handsome- 
ness, of  the  clothing. 

But  in  years  gone  by,  there  was  almost  as  much  fashion 
changing  among  the  men  on  the  prairie  as  among  the 
woman  in  the  drawing-room.  At  the  close  of  the  war  the 
first  of  the  arbitrary  dictates  of  fashion  went  out.  A 
special  form  of  stirrup  was  introduced.  It  was  very 
narrow  and  exceedingly  inconvenient,  but  it  was  consid- 
ered the  right  thing,  and  so  everybody  used  it.  Rawhide 
was  used  in  place  of  lines,  and  homespun  garments  were 
uniform.  Calfskin  leggings,  made  on  the  prairie,  with  the 
hair  on  the  outside,  were  first  worn,  and  large  umbrella-like 
straw  hats  came  into  use.  A  little  later  it  was  decided  the 
straw  hat  was  not  durable  enough  for  the  purpose.  When 
excited  a  cowboy  frequently  starts  his  horse  with  his  hat, 
and  when  he  is  wearing  a  straw,  four  or  five  sharp  blows 
knock  out  of  the  hat  any  semblance  it  may  ever  have  had 
to  respectability  and  symmetry.  The  wide  brim  woolen 
hat  was  declared  to  be  the  correct  thing,  and  every  one  was 
glad  of  the  change.  The  narrow  stirrup  gave  place  to  a 
wider  one,  and  the  stirrup  leather  was  shortened  so  as  to 
compel  the  rider  to  keep  his  knees  bent  the  whole  time. 
The  most  important  change  in  fashion  twenty  years 
ago,  was  the  introduction  of  tanned  leather  leggings  and  of 
handsome  bridles.  Many  a  man  now  pays  two  or  three 


COWBOYS— Real  and  Ideal.  133 

months'  wages  for  his  bridle,  and  since  the  fashion  came 
in,  it  is  probable  that  many  thousand  dollars  have  been 
invested  in  ornamental  headgear  for  prairie  horses  and 
ponies.  A  new  saddle,  as  well  as  bow  and  tassel  decora- 
tions, also  came  in  at  this  period,  and  it  is  to  be  admitted 
that  for  a  time  exaggeration  in  clothing  became  general. 
It  is  an  old  joke  on  the  prairie  that  the  average  man's  hat 
costs  him  more  than  his  clothes. 

Many  a  cowboy  earning  $30.00  a  month  has  spent 
three  times  that  sum  on  his  saddle  alone.  More  than  one 
man  earning  $25.00  a  month  has  invested  every  cent  of 
his  salary  in  silver  buckles  for  his  strange  looking  hat. 
Equally  extravagant  is  the  average  man  as  to  his  saddle, 
bridle,  and  even  spurs  and  bit.  Those  who  talk  so  much 
about  the  bad  habits  of  these  people,  will  hardly  credit  the 
fact  that  many  a  cowboy  abstains  from  liquor  and  tobacco 
for  an  entire  year  at  a  stretch,  simply  because  he  wants  to 
purchase  some  article  of  attire,  which  he  thinks  will  make 
him  the  envy  of  the  entire  ranch. 

The  cow  pony  is  worthy  of  as  much  attention  and 
thought  as  the  cowboy.  It  is  often  said  that  the  latter  is 
hard  and  cruel,  and  that  he  uses  his  pony  roughly.  This 
is  far  from  being  correct.  Between  the  cowboy  and  his 
pet  pony  there  is  generally  a  bond  of  sympathy  and  a 
thorough  understanding,  without  which  the  marvelous 
feats  of  horsemanship  which  are  performed  daily  would  be 
impossible.  Perhaps  in  the  preliminary  breaking  in  of 
the  pony  there  is  more  roughness  than  is  quite  necessary. 
At  the  same  time,  it  should  be  remembered  that  to  subdue 
an  animal  which  was  born  on  the  prairie  and  has  run 
wild  to  its  heart's  content,  is  not  a  very  simple  matter. 
The  habit  of  bucking,  which  a  Texas  pony  seems  to 


134  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

inherit  from  its  ancestors,  is  a  very  inconvenient  one,  and 
an  expert  rider  from  the  East  is  perfectly  helpless  upon 
the  back  of  a  bucking  pony.  The  way  in  which  he  mounts 
assures  the  animal  at  once  that  he  is  a  stranger  in  those 
parts.  A  natural  desire  to  unseat  the  daring  stranger 
becomes  paramount,  and  the  pony  proceeds  to  carry  out 
the  idea. 

At  first  it  moves  quietly  and  the  rider  congratulates 
himself  on  having  convinced  the  animal  that  resistance  will 
be  in  vain.  But  just  as  he  begins  to  do  this  the  animal 
gets  down  its  head,  arches  up  its  back,  something  after  the 
manner  of  an  angry  cat,  leaps  into  the  air  and  comes  down 
on  the  ground  with  its  four  legs  drawn  together  under  it, 
perfectly  stiff  and  straight.  The  rider  seldom  knows  how 
it  happened.  He  only  knows  that  it  felt  as  though  a 
cannon  ball  had  struck  him,  and  that  he  fell  off  most 
ungracefully . 

A  pony  never  bucks  viciously  when  a  cowboy  is  riding 
it.  It  has  learned  by  long  experience  that  the  process  is 
distinctly  unprofitable.  Breaking  in  a  pony  and  convincing 
it  that  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard,  is  one  of  the 
difficulties  of  prairie  life.  When,  however,  it  is  once 
accomplished,  an  almost  invaluable  assistant  has  been 
secured.  The  staying  powers  of  the  cow  pony  are  almost 
without  limit.  He  will  carry  his  master  100  miles  in  a  day, 
apparently  with  very  little  fatigue.  In  point  of  speed  he 
may  not  be  able  to  compete  with  his  better  bred  Eastern 
cousin,  but  in  point  of  distance  covered  he  entirely  out- 
classes him.  Assuming  an  easy  gait  within  its  powers  of 
endurance,  a  pony  of  the  prairie  will  keep  it  up  almost 
indefinitely.  At  the  end  of  a  very  long  ride,  the  man  is 
generally  more  fatigued  than  his  steed.  The  latter,  after 


COWBOYS— Real  and   Ideal.  135 

Ijeing  relieved  of  its  saddle  and  bridle,  rolls  vigorously  to 
get  rid  of  the  stiffness,  and,  after  an  hour  or  two,  is 
apparently  in  as  good  condition  as  ever. 

The  charm  connected  with  cowboy  life  is  found  in  the 
disregard  of  strict  rules  of  etiquette  and  ceremony,  and  in 
the  amount  of  fun  which  is  considered  to  be  in  place 
around  the  prairie  fire.  We  have  already  seen  that  the 
wages  paid  to  cowboys  are,  and  always  have  been,  very 
small.  The  hours  that  have  to  be  worked,  and  the  hard- 
ships that  have  to  be  encountered,  seem  to  combine 
together  to  deter  men  from  leading  the  life  at  all.  We 
know  that  it  does  neither,  and  that  it  is  seldom  there  is 
really  any  dearth  of  help  on  the  prairie  or  among  the 
cattle  herds.  The  greatest  delight  is  derived  from  jokes 
played  at  the  expense  of  smart  tenderfeet,  who  approach 
the  camp  with  too  much  confidence  in  themselves.  The 
commonest  way  of  convincing  the  newcomer  that  he  has 
made  a  mistake  is  to  persuade  him  to  ride  an  exceptionally 
fractious  pony.  The  task  is  generally  approached  with 
much  confidence,  and  almost  invariably  ends  in  grief.  If 
the  stranger  can  retain  his  seat  and  thus  upset  the  re- 
hearsed programme,  the  delight  of  the  onlookers  is  even 
greater  than  their  disappointment,  and  the  newcomer  is 
admitted  at  once  into  the  good  fellowship  of  the  crowd. 

Nothing  aggravates  a  cowboy  so  much,  or  makes  him 
more  desperate  in  his  selection  of  tricks,  as  the  affectation 
of  badness  on  the  part  of  a  newcomer.  A  year  or  two 
ago  a  young  man,  who  had  been  saving  up  his  money  for 
years  in  order  to  emulate  the  deeds  of  some  of  the  heroes 
described  in  the  cheap  books  he  had  been  reading,  arrived 
in  the  Southwest,  and  proceeded  to  introduce  himself  to  a 
number  of  employes  of  a  cattle  ranch  who,  a  few  years 


136  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

ago,  would  have  been  known  as  regulation  cowboys.  The 
unlimited  impudence  and  the  astounding  mendacity  of  the 
youth  amused  the  cowboys  very  much,  and  they  allowed 
him  to  narrate  a  whole  list  of  terrible  acts  he  had  com- 
mitted in  the  East.  Before  he  had  been  in  his  new 
company  an  hour,  he  had  talked  of  thefts  and  even  killings 
with  the  nonchalance  of  a  man  who  had  served  a  dozen 
years  in  jail.  His  listeners  enjoyed  the  absurdity  of  the 
situation,  and  allowed  him  to  talk  at  random  without 
interruption. 

The  story  telling  was  brought  to  an  end  in  a  very 
sensational  manner  indeed.  One  of  the  listeners  knew  that 
a  deputy  sheriff  was  in  the  neighborhood  looking  out  for  a 
dangerous  character.  Skipping  out  from  the  party,  he 
hunted  up  the  deputy,  and  told  him  that  one  of  the  hunted 
man's  confederates  was  in  the  camp.  The  deputy,  who 
was  new  to  the  business  and  anxious  to  make  a  reputation 
for  himself,  rushed  to  the  camp  and  arrested  the  story- 
teller in  spite  of  his  protests.  The  young  man,  who  had 
been  so  brave  a  few  minutes  before,  wept  bitterly,  and 
begged  that  some  one  would  telegraph  his  mother  so  as  to- 
have  his  character  established  and  his  liberty  assured.  The 
joke  was  kept  up  so  long  that  the  young  man  was  actually 
placed  in  safe  keeping  all  night.  The  following  morning 
he  was  released,  as  there  was  nothing  whatever  against 
him  except  artistic  lying.  The  speed  that  he  managed  to 
attain  while  hurrying  to  the  nearest  railroad  station  showed 
that  with  proper  training  he  might  have  made  a  good 
athlete. 

He  waited  around  the  station  until  the  next  train 
went  East,  and  no  passenger  was  more  delighted  when  the 
conductor  said  "All  aboard,"  than  was  the  youth  who- 


COWBOYS— Real  and   Ideal.  137 

was  going  back  home  very  much  discouraged,  but  very 
considerably  enlightened. 

On  another  occasion  a  typical  cowboy  was  traveling  on 
1he  cars,  and  as  is  quite  common  with  members  of  his 
profession,  had  been  approached  by  a  sickly  looking  youth, 
who  asked  him  dozens  of  questions  and  evinced  a  great 
anxiety  to  embark  upon  prairie  life.  There  was  very  little 
to  interest  the  cattle-worker,  and  after  awhile  he  deter- 
mined to  get  rid  of  his  not  overwelcome,  self-introduced 
friend.  He  accordingly  pointed  out  a  rough-looking  man 
at  the  far  end  of  the  car,  and  told  the  questioner  that  he 
was  the  leader  of  a  dangerous  band  of  train  robbers.  The 
individual  was  probably  some  hard-working  man  of  per- 
fectly honest  habits,  but  the  would-be  brave  young  man, 
who  a  few  moments  before  had  been  a  candidate  for  a  life 
of  danger  and  hardship,  was  so  horrified  at  the  bare  idea, 
that  he  decided  in  a  moment  to  emulate  the  Irishman  who 
said  he  had  left  his  future  behind  him,  and  jumped 
from  the  moving  train,  preferring  a  succession  of  knocks 
and  bruises  to  actual  contact  with  a  man  of  the  character 
he  had  schooled  himself  into  admiring. 

Every  man  who  creates  a  disturbance,  defies  the  law, 
and  discharges  fire-arms  at  random  is  spoken  of  as  a  cow- 
boy, although  in  a  majority  of  instances  he  has  never  done 
a  day's  work  to  justify  the  name.  The  tough  man  from 
the  East  who  goes  West  to  play  the  bad  cowboy,  is  liable 
to  find  that  he  has  been  borrowing  trouble.  He  finds  out 
that  an  altercation  is  likely  to  bring  him  up  facing  the 
muzzle  of  a  pistol  in  the  hands  of  a  man  much  more  ready 
to  pull  the  trigger  off-hand  than  to  waste  time  in 
preliminary  talk.  He  soon  learns  the  lesson  of  circum- 
spection and,  if  he  survives  the  process,  his  behavior 


138  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

is  usually  modified  to  fit  his  new  surroundings.  A 
tragic  illustration  of  the  results  that  may  come  from  a 
tenderfoot's  attempt  to  masquerade  as  a  bad  man  west  of 
the  Mississippi  River,  took  place  in  the  winter  of  1881-82 
in  New  Mexico,  on  a  southward-bound  Atchison  train. 
One  of  the  strangers  was  terrorizing  the  others.  He  was 
a  tough-looking  fellow  from  some  Eastern  city;  he  had 
been  drinking,  and  he  paraded  the  cars  talking  loudly  and 
profanely,  trying  to  pick  quarrels  with  passengers  and 
frequently  flourishing  a  revolver.  The  train  hands  did  not 
seem  inclined  to  interfere  with  him,  and  among  the  people 
aboard  whom  he  directly  insulted,  he  did  not  happen  to  hit 
upon  any  one  who  had  the  sand  or  the  disposition  to  call 
him  down. 

Toward  the  members  of  a  theatrical  company,  traveling" 
in  one  of  the  coaches,  he  particularly  directed  his  violence 
and  insults.  His  conduct  with  them  at  last  became 
unbearable,  and  when,  after  threatening  two  actors  with 
his  revolver  and  frightening  the  women  to  the  verge  of 
hysterics,  he  passed  onward  into  another  car,  a  hurried 
council  of  war  was  held  in  the  coach  be  had  just  vacated, 
and  every  man  who  had  a  pistol  got  it  in  readiness,  with 
the  understanding  that  if  he  returned,  he  was  to  be  shot 
down  at  the  first  aggressive  movement.  But  that  phase  of 
trouble  was  averted,  for,  as  it  happened,  he  remained  in 
the  car  ahead  until,  at  dusk,  the  train  rolled  into 
Albuquerque. 

Here  the  proprietor  of  the  Armijo  House  was  at  the 
station  with  his  hackman  awaiting  the  train's  arrival.  He 
called  out  the  name  of  his  house  at  the  door  of  one  car, 
and  then  turning  to  the  hackman  said:  "You  take  care  of 
the  passengers  in  this  car,  and  I  will  go  to  the  next." 


COWBOYS— Real  and  Ideal.  139 

These  inoffensive  words  caught  the  ear  of  the  tough 
man  from  the  East,  who  was  pushing  his  way  to  the  car 
platform.  He  drew  his  pistol  and  started  for  the  nearest 
man  on  the  station  platform,  shouting: 

"You'll  take  care  of  us,  will  you?  I'll  show  you  smart 
fellows  out  here  that  you  are  not  able  to  take  care  of  me." 

He  flourished  his  revolver  as  he  spoke  and,  just  as  his 
feet  struck  the  second  step  of  the  car,  he  fired,  the  ball 
passing  over  the  head  of  the  man  on  the  station  platform. 
The  sound  of  his  pistol  was  quickly  followed  by  two  loud 
reports,  and  the  tough  man  fell  forward  upon  the  platform 
dead.  The  man  at  whom  he  had  apparently  fired  had 
drawn  his  revolver  and  shot  him  twice  through  the  heart. 

A  crowd  gathered  as  the  train  rolled  on,  leaving  the 
tough  man  where  he  had  fallen.  Of  course  the  man  who 
killed  him,  a  gambler  of  the  town,  was  fully  exonerated  at 
the  inquest,  and  was  never  even  indicted  for  the  killing. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

WARDS    OF    OUR    NATIVE    LAND. 

The  Indians'  Admirers  and  Critics — At  School  and  After — Indian 
Courtship  and  Marriage — Extraordinary  Dances — Gambling  by 
Instinct — How  "Cross-Eye"  Lost  his  Pony— Pawning  a  Baby — 
Amusing  and  Degrading  Scenes  on  Annuity  Day. 

I  PINIONS  differ  materially  as  to  the  rights  and 
wrongs,  privileges  and  grievances,  and  worthiness 
and  worthlessness  of  the  North  American  Indian.  Some 
people  think  that  the  red  man  has  ]peen  shamefully  treated 
and  betrayed  by.  the  white  man,  and  that  the  catalogue  of 
his  grievances  is  as  long  as  the  tale  of  woe  the  former  is 
apt  to  tell,  whenever  he  can  make  himself  understood  by  a 
sympathetic  listener. 

Holders  of  this  opinion  live  for  the  most  part  in  dis- 
tricts where  there  are  no  Indians  located. 

There  are  others  who  think  that  the  Indian  has  been 
absurdly  pampered  by  the  Government,  and  that  it  would 
be  as  sensible  to  try  to  change  the  arrangement  of  seasons 
as  to  attempt  to  prevent  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  or,  in 
other  words,  to  interfere  with  the  gradual,  but  in  their 
opinion  inevitable,  extermination  of  the  Indian. 

Those  holding  this  extreme  view  are  for  the  most  part 
those  who  live  near  Indian  reservations,  and  who  have  had 
opportunities  of  studying  the  red  man's  character. 

Both  views  are  of  course  unduly  severe.  As  a  useful 
citizen  the  Indian  varies  considerably,  and  it  is  rather  as 
an  interesting  study  that  we  approach  the  subject. 

(140) 


WARDS  OF  OUR  NATIVE  LAND.        141 

* 

Civilization  has  a  very  peculiar  effect  upon  the  Ameri- 
can Indian.  The  schools  for  Indian  children  are  well 
managed,  and  the  education  imparted  should  be  sufficient 
to  prevent  the  possibility  of  a  relapse  into  the  unsatis- 
factory habits  and  the  traditional  uncleanliness  of  the 
different  tribes.  Sometimes  the  effect  of  education  is 
excellent.  There  are  many  Indians  to  be  found  who  have 
adopted  civilized  modes  of  living,  and  who  have  built  up 
homes  and  amassed  little  fortunes  by  farming,  raising 
cattle  and  trading.  Some  of  the  Indians,  notably  those  of 
the  five  civilized  tribes  or  nations  in  Indian  Territory, 
resemble  white  men  in  appearance  very  much.  They  will 
sometimes  work  side  by  side  with  swarthy  Caucasians, 
whose  skin  has  been  tanned  by  exposure  to  the  sun,  and 
except  for  the  exceptionally  high  cheek  bone  and  the 
peculiarly  straight  hair,  there  is  little  to  distinguish  the 
Indian  from  the  white  man. 

But  these  cases  are  exceptions  to  the  general  rule, 
which  is  that  education  is  looked  upon  by  Indians  as  a 
degradation  rather  than  otherwise.  Great  difficulty  is 
often  experienced  in  persuading  parents  to  allow  their 
children  to  be  taken  to  the  training  schools  at  all,  and  so 
much  compulsion  is  often  necessary  that  an  appearance  of 
kidnaping  is  imparted.  The  first  thing  that  is  done  with 
an  Indian  boy  or  girl  admitted  to  one  of  these  schools,  is 
to  wash  the  newcomer  with  considerable  vigor  from  head 
to  foot,  and  to  cut  off  the  superfluous,  and,  generally 
speaking,  thickly  matted  hair. 

The  comfort  of  short  hair,  neatly  combed  and  brushed, 
seldom  impresses  itself  upon  the  youthful  brave.  For 
obvious  reasons  this  is,  however,  insisted  upon,  and  while 
the  boy  is  at  school  he  is  kept  neat  and  clean.  Directly, 


142  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

however,  he  returns  to  his  tribe  he  is  in  danger  of  relaps- 
ing into  the  habits  of  his  forefathers.  Too  often  he  is 
sneered  at  for  his  neatness.  His  short  hair  is  looked  upon 
as  an  offense,  and  he  is  generally  willing  to  fall  in  with 
tribal  fashions,  abandon  his  neat  clothing,  and  let  his  hair 
grow  and  his  face  accumulate  the  regulation  amount  of 
dust  and  dirt. 

The  Indian  trader  and  the  pioneer  generally  will  tell 
you  that  the  only  good  Indian  is  a  dead  Indian.  He  will 
repeat  this  adage  until  it  becomes  wearisome  in  its 
monotony.  Then,  perhaps,  he  will  vary  it  by  telling 
you  that  of.  all  the  mean  Indians  the  educated  one  is  the 
meanest.  This  is  only  true  in  some  instances,  but  it  is  a 
fact  that  education .  does  not  invariably  benefit  the  Indian 
at  all. 

Almost  all  Indians  are  passionately  fond  of  dancing. 
Several  books  have  been  written  descriptive  of  the  various 
dances  of  different  tribes.  Some  of  them  have  a  hidden 
meaning  and  dangerous  significance,  while  others  are 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  amusement  and  recreation. 
For  these  dances  the  Indians  generally  put  on  the  most 
fancy  costumes  they  have,  and  their  movements  are  some- 
times graceful  and  sometimes  grotesque.  The  sign  dance, 
as  seen  in  some  of  the  Southwestern  tribes,  is  a  curious 
one.  One  of  the  belles  of  the  tribe  leads  a  man  into  the 
dancing  apartment,  which  consists  of  one  of  two  tepees 
thrown  together.  In  one  are  the  tomtom  beaters,  in  the 
other  the  dancers.  In  this  room  the  couple  "begin  to 
dance,  making  signs  to  each  other,  the  meaning  of  which 
may  be:  "Well,  what  do  you  think  of  me?  Do  you  like 
me?  Do  you  think  me  pretty?  How  do  I  affect  you?" 
and  so  on,  the  signs  all  being  closely  watched  by  the 


Civilized  Indians— The  Means  and  the  End. 


WARDS  OF  OUR  NATIVE  LAND.        145 

spectators,  who  applaud,  giggle,  chuckle  or  laugh  uproari- 
ously by  turns,  as  the  case  may  be.  Such  a  dance  is  a 
questioning  bee,  a  collision  of  wits  on  the  part  of  two 
really  facetious  Indians. 

Wit  is  a  universal  trait  of  the  savage.  Some  white 
men  draw.  All  Indians  draw.  Some  white  men  are 
cunning.  All  Indians  are  cunning.  Some  white  men  are 
humorous.  All  Indians  are  witty.  Dry  wit,  with  a  pro- 
verbial philosophy  in  it  which  would  have  delighted  the 
-soul  of  Tupper,  is  indigenous  to  the  Indian.  The  Indian 
is  the  finest  epigrammist  on  earth.  His  sentences  are 
pithy  and  sententious,  because  short — never  long  and 
involved.  A  book  of  Indian  wit  and  wisdom  would  have 
an  enormous  sale,  and  reveal  the  very  core  of  his  thought 
on  a  typical  scale. 

The  Indian  flirt  is  sweet,  saucy,  subtle,  seductive. 
She  has  the  art  of  keeping  in  stock  constantly  about  her 
a  score  of  bucks,  each  one  of  whom  flatters  himself  that 
he,  and  he  alone,  is  the  special  object  of  her  admiration. 
Every  tribe  has  had  its  belle.  Poquite  for  the  Modocs, 
Ur-ska-te-na  for  the  Navajos,  Mini-haha  for  the  Dakotas,, 
Romona  for  the  neighboring  bands.  These  belles  have 
their  foes  among  Indian  women,  but,  however  cordially 
hated,  they  never  brawl  or  come  to  blows. 

Love-making  is  one  of  the  interesting  night  scenes  in 
an  Indian  camp.  When  a  young  man  wants  to  court  a 
pretty  red  couquette,  he  stands  at  the  door  of  his  lodge  on 
a  bright  day  and  flashes  a  ray  of  light  from  his  sun-glass 
on  the  face  of  his  sweetheart  far  away.  She  sees  the  ray 
as  it  falls  on  her,  and  follows  in  the  direction  whence  it  is 
thrown,  right  or  left.  She  understands  the  secret  of  these 
flash  lights.  Soon  the  lovers  meet,  each  under  a  blanket; 


146  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

not  a  word,  not  a  salutation  is  exchanged;  they  stand 
near  each  other  for  a  time  and  then  retire,  only  to  repeat 
the  affair  day  after  day. 

At  last,  upon  some  favorable  night,  the  Indian  youth 
visits  the  door  of  her  lodge;  she  comes  out  and  sits 
down  on  the  ground  beside  him ;  still  no  word  is  spoken. 
At  last  she  arises  from  the  ground  ;  he  also  rises,  and 
standing  before  her,  throws  his  blanket  over  both  of  them. 
No  sooner  has  he  done  so  than  she  doffs  her  blanket, 
letting  it  fall  upon  the  ground,  which  is  the  admission  on 
her  part  that  she  loves  him,  and  does  him  obeisance  as  her 
future  lord  and  master. 

Every  Indian  camp  at  night  is  full  of  such  lovers,  with 
wooings  as  sweet,  lips  as  willing,  embraces  as  fond,  lives 
as  romantic,  hearts  as  true,  and  elopements  as  daring  and 
desperate  as  ever  graced  a  Spanish  court.  The  old  people 
€ome  together  with  their  friends  and  hold  a  council. 
•"How  many  ponies  can  he  pay  for  her?"  has  a  good  deal 
to  do  with  the  eligibility  of  the  suitor.  That  night  he 
brings  his  articles  of  dowry  to  the  door  of  his  fiancee.  If 
they  are  still  there  next  morning,  he  is  rejected ;  if  not, 
accepted. 

No  formal  marriage  ceremony  is  gone  through  as  a 
rule.  The  heart  is  the  certificate  and  the  Great  Spirit  the 
priest.  Under  the  tribal  government  of  the  Indians,  the 
rights  of  women  were  respected  and  clearly  defined.  She 
was  the  head  of  the  house,  and  all  property,  save  an  insig- 
nificant amount,  descended  at  death  to  her.  She  was  in 
many  tribes  personified  as  the  principal  object  of  worship, 
prayer  and  adoration,  in  the  tutelary  goddess  of  the  tribe. 
Now  all  is  changed.  The  Indian  of  to-day  is  not  the 
Indian  of  fifty  years  ago,  and  cannot  be  studied  in  the 


WARDS  OF  OUR  NATIVE  LAND.        147 

same  light.  His  manners,  customs  and  habits  are  all 
changed,  and  polygamy,  more  and  more,  creeps  in  with  all 
its  appalling  degradations. 

On  special  occasions  an  entire  tribe  is  gathered  under 
an  open  space  in  the  cottonwoods  to  celebrate  their  princi- 
pal dances.  Hands  are  wildly  waved  above  the  heads  of 
the  dancers  around  a  central  fire  of  logs,  piled  in  a  conical 
heap.  Around  this  blazing  pile  runs  the  dark  circle  which 
was  built  at  sunset,  inclosing  sacred  ground,  which  must 
not  be  trespassed  on.  The  old  chanter  stands  at  the  gate 
of  the  corral  and  sings.  The  men  built  the  dark  circle  in 
less  than  an  hour.  When  done,  the  corral  measures  forty 
paces  in  diameter.  Around  it  stands  a  fence  eight  feet 
high,  with  a  gate  in  the  east  ten  feet  wide. 

At  night-fall  many  of  the  Navajo  people  move,  tempo- 
rarily, all  their  goods  and  property  into  the  corral,  and 
abandon  their  huts  or  hogans.  Those  who  do  not  move 
in  are  watchers  to  protect  their  property,  for  there  are 
thieves  among  the  Navajos.  At  8  o'clock  a  band  of 
musicians  enters,  and,  sitting  down,  begins  a  series  of 
cacophonous  sounds  on  a  drum.  As  soon  as  the  music 
begins,  the  great  wood  pile  is  lighted.  The  conflagration 
spreads  rapidly  and  lights  the  whole  landscape  and  the 
sky.  A  storm  of  red,  whirling  sparks  fly  upward,  like  bright 
golden  bees  from  out  a  hive,  to  a  height  of  a  hundred  feet. 
The  descending  ashes  fall  in  the  corral  like  a  light  shower 
of  snow.  The  heat  soon  grows  so  intense  that  in  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  enclosure  it  is  necessary  for  a  person 
to  screen  his  face  when  he  looks  towards  the  fire. 

Suddenly  a  warning  whistle  is  heard  in  the  outer  dark- 
ness, and  a  dozen  forms,  lithe  and  lean,  dressed  only  with 
the  narrow  white  breech-clout  and  mocassins,  and  daubed 


148  31 Y  NATIVE   LAND. 

with  white  earth  until  they  seem  a  group  of  living  marbles, 
oome  bounding  through  the  entrance,  yelping  like  wolves, 
and  slowly  moving  round  the  fire.  As  they  advance,  in 
single  file,  they  throw  their  bodies  into  diverse  attitudes, 
some  graceful,  some  strained,  some  difficult,  some  menac- 
ing, and  all  grotesque.  Now  they  face  the  east,  now  the 
west,  now  the  south,  now  the  north,  bearing  aloft  their 
slender  wands,  tipped  with  eagle  down,  holding  and  wav- 
ing them  with  surprising  effects.  Their  course  around  the 
fire  is  to  the  left,  east,  west,  south,  north,  a  course  invari- 
ably taken  by  all  the  dancers  of  the  night. 

When  they  have  circled  the  fire  twice,  they  begin  to 
thrust  their  wands  toward  it.  Their  object  is  to  try  to 
burn  off  the  tip  of  eagle  down.  They  dash  up  to  the  fire, 
crawl  up  to  it  on  their  faces,  run  up  holding  their  heads 
sidewise,  dart  up  backward  and  approach  it  in  all  sorts  of 
attitudes.  Suddenly,  one  approaching  the  flaming  pile 
throws  himself  on  his  back,  with  his  head  to  the  fire,  and 
swiftly  thrusts  his  wand  into  the  flames.  Many  are  the 
unsuccessful  attempts,  but  at  length,  one  by  one,  they  all 
succeed  in  burning  the  downy  balls  from  the  end  of  their 
wands.  As  each  accomplishes  his  feat,  it  becomes  neces- 
sary, as  the  next  duty,  to  restore  the  ball  of  down,  which 
is  done  by  refitting  the  ring  held  in  the  hand  with  down 
upon  it,  and  putting  it  on  the  head  of  the  aromatic  sumao 
wand. 

The  dance  customs  and  ideas  differ  with  the  tribes  and 
localities.  Sometimes  the  dance  is  little  more  than  an 
exhibition  of  powers  of  endurance.  Men  or  women,  or 
both,  go  through  fatiguing  motions  for  hours  and  even 
days  in  succession,  astounding  spectators  by  their  disre- 
gard of  the  traditions  of  their  race,  so  far  as  idleness  is 


WARDS  OF  OUtt  NATIVE  LAND.        149 

concerned.  Other  dances  are  grotesque  and  brutal.  On 
special  occasions  weird  ceremonies  are  indulged  in,  and  the 
proceedings  are  sensational  in  the  extreme. 

Of  the  ghost  dance  and  its  serious  import,  readers  of 
the  daily  papers  are  familiar.  Of  the  war  dances  of  the 
different  tribes  a  great  deal  has  also  been  written,  and 
altogether  the  dance  lore  of  the  American  Indian  is  replete 
with  singular  incongruities  and  picturesque  anomalies. 
Dancing  with  the  Indian  is  often  a  religious  exercise.  It 
involves  hardship  at  times,  and  occasionally  the  partici- 
pants even  mutilate  themselves  in  their  enthusiasm.  Some 
of  the  tribes  of  the  Southwest  dance,  as  we  shall  see 
later,  with  venomous  snakes  in  their  hands,  allowing  them- 
selves to  be  bitten,  and  relying  on  the  power  of  the  priests 
to  save  them  from  evil  consequences. 

The  Indians  gamble  as  if  by  instinct.  On  one  occasion 
the  writer  was  visiting  a  frontier  town  just  after  its  settle- 
ment. Indians  were  present  in  very  large  numbers,  and  in 
a  variety  of  ways  they  got  hold  of  a  good  deal  of  money. 
The  newcomers  from  the  Eastern  States  were  absolutely 
unprepared  for  the  necessary  privations  of  frontier  life. 
Hence  they  were  willing*  to  purchase  necessary  articles  at 
almost  any  price,  while  they  were  easily  deluded  into 
buying  all  sorts  of  articles  for  which  they  had  no  possible 
need.  The  Indians,  who  are  supposed  to  be  civilized,  took 
full  advantage  of  the  situation,  and  brought  into  town 
everything  that  was  of  a  salable  character,  frequently 
obtaining  three  or  four  times  the  local  cash  value. 

With  the  money  thus  obtained  they  gambled  desper- 
ately. One  Indian,  who  boasted  of  the  terrible  name  of 
" Cross-Eye,"  brought  in  two  ponies  to  sell.  One  of  them 
was  an  exceptionally  ancient-looking  animal,  which  had 


150  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

long  since  outlived  its  usefulness,  and  which,  under  ordi- 
nary local  conditions,  could  certainly  have  been  purchased 
for  $4.00  or  $5.00.  A  friendly  Indian  met  Mr.  "Cross- 
Eye,"  and  a  conversation  ensued  as  to  the  value  of  the 
pony  and  the  probable  price  that  it  would  realize.  The  two 
men  soon  got  angry  on  the  subject,  and  finally  the  owner 
of  the  pony  bet  his  animal's  critic  the  pony  against  $20.00 
that  it  would  realize  at  least  the  last-named  sum. 

With  this  extra  stimulus  for  driving  a  good  bargain, 
the  man  offered  his  pony  to  a  number  of  white  men,  and 
finally  found  one  who  needed  an  animal  at  once,  and  who 
was  willing  to  pay  $20.00  for  the  antiquated  quadruped. 
"Cross-Eye"  made  a  number  of  guttural  noises  indicative 
of  his  delight,  and  promptly  collected  the  second  $20.00. 

He  had  thus  practically  sold  a  worthless  pony  for 
$40.00,  and  had  it  not  been  for  his  innate  passion  for 
gambling,  would  have  done  a  very  good  day's  business.  A 
few  hours  later,  however,  he  was  found  looking  very 
disconsolate,  and  trying  very  hard  to  sell  some  supposed 
curiosities  for  a  few  dollars  with  which  to  buy  a  blanket  he 
sorely  needed.  His  impecuniosity  was  easily  explained. 
Instead  of  proceeding  at  once  to  sell  his  second  pony,  he 
turned  his  attention  first  to  gambling,  and  in  less  than  an 
hour  his  last  dollar  had  gone.  Then,  with  the  gamester's 
desperation,  he  had  put  up  his  second  pony  as  a  final 
stake,  with  the  result  that  he  lost  his  money  and  his  stock 
in  trade  as  well.  He  took  the  situation  philosophically 
and  stoically,  but  when  he  found  it  impossible  in  the  busy 
pioneer  towrn  to  get  even  the  price  of  a  drink  of  whisky 
for  his  curiosities,  he  began  to  get  reckless,  and  was 
finally  escorted  out  of  the  town  by  two  or  three  of  his 
friends  to  prevent  him  getting  mixed  up  in  a  fight. 


WARDS  OF  OUR  NATIVE  LAND.        151 

When  the  Indians  have  enough  energy  they  gamble 
almost  day  and  night.  The  women  themselves  are  gener- 
ally kept  under  sufficient  subjection  by  their  husbands  to 
make  gambling  on  their  part  impossible,  so  far  as  the 
actual  playing  of  games  of  chance  is  concerned.  But  they 
stand  by  and  watch  the  men.  They  stake  their  necklaces, 
leggings,  ornaments,  and  in  fact,  their  all,  on  the  play, 
which  is  done  sometimes  with  blue  wild  plum-stones, 
hieroglyphically  charactered,  and  sometimes  with  playing 
bones,  but  oftener  with  common  cards.  Above  the  ground 
the  tom-tok  would  be  sounded,  but  below  ground  the  tom- 
tom was  buried. 

An  Indian  smokes  incessantly  while  he  gambles. 
Putting  the  cigarette  or  cigar  to  his  mouth  he  draws  in  the 
smoke  in  long,  deep  breaths,  until  he  has  filled  his  lungs 
completely,  when  he  begins  slowly  to  emit  the  smoke  from 
his  nose,  little  by  little,  until  it  is  all  gone.  The  object  of 
this  with  the  Indian  is  to  steep  his  senses  more  deeply  with 
the  narcotizing  soporific.  The  tobacco  they  smoke  is 
generally  their  own  raising. 

"The  thing  that  moved  me  most,"  writes  a  traveler, 
describing  a  visit  to  an  Indian  gambling  den,  "was  the 
spectacle  in  the  furthest  corner  of  the  'shack'  of  an  Indian 
mother,  with  a  pappoose  in  its  baby-case  peeping  over  her 
back.  -There  she  stood  behind  an  Indian  gambler,  to 
whom  she  had  joined  her  life,  painted  and  beaded  and  half 
intoxicated.  The  Indian  husband  had  already  put  his 
saddle  in  pawn  to  the  white  professional  gambler  for  his 
$5.00,  and  it  was  not  five  minutes  before  the  white 
gambler  had  the  saddle  and  $5.00  both.  Then,  when 
they  had  nothing  else  left  to  bet,  so  intense  was  their 
love  for  gambling,  they  began  to  put  themselves  in  pawn, 


152  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

piecemeal,  saying:  'I'll  bet  you.  my  whole  body/  That 
means  'I'll  put  myself  in  pawn  to  you  as  your  slave  to- 
serve  you  as  you  will  for  a  specified  time.' 

"So  it  was  that  this  Indian  mother  stood  leaning  back 
wearily  against  the  wall,  half  drunk  and  dazed  with  smoke 
and  heat,  when  all  at  once  the  Indian  who  lived  with  her 
said  to  her  in  Indian :  'Put  in  the  baby  for  a  week. 
Then  pay-day  wrill  come.'  It  was  done.  The  baby  was 
handed  over.  That  is  what  civilization  has  done  for  the 
Indian.  Its  virtues  escapes  him;  its  vices  inoculate  him.'* 

One  of  these  vices  is  gambling.  The  Indian  is  kept 
poor  all  the  year  round  and  plucked  of  every  pinfeather. 
That  is  the  principal  reason  why  he  steals,  not  only  to 
reimburse  himself  for  loss,  but  also  to  avenge  himself 
upon  the  white  man,  who  he  knows  well  enough  has 
constantly  robbed  him. 

Gambling,  as  witnessed  in  the  Indian  camp  at  night,  is 
a  very  different  affair  from  the  cache.  The  tom-tom 
notifies  all  that  the  bouts  with  fortune  are  about  to  begin. 
During  the  game  the  music  is  steadily  kept  up.  In  the 
intervals  between  the  games  the  players  all  sing.  Crowds 
surround  the  camp.  When  a  man  loses  heavily  the  whole 
camp  knows  it  in  a  few  minutes,  and  not  infrequently  the 
wife  rushes  in  and  puts  a  stop  to  the  stake  by  driving  her 
chief  away.  Gambling  is  the  great  winter  game.  It  is 
often  played  from  morning  till  night,  and  right  along  all 
night  long.  Cheating  and  trickery  of  every  sort  are 
practiced. 

"Lizwin"  or  "mescal"  are  the  two  drinks  made  by  the 
Indians  themselves,  one  from  corn  and  the  other  from  the 
"maguay"  plant.  The  plains  Indians  drink  whisky.  To 
gamble  is  to  drink,  and  to  drink  is  to  lose.  Gambling  is 


WARDS  OF  OUR  NATIVE  LAND.        153 

the  hardest  work  that  you  can  persuade  an  Indian  to  do, 
unless  threatened  by  starvation.  Different  tribes  gamble 
differently. 

The  Coinanches,  undoubtedly,  have  by  far  the  most 
exciting  and  fascinating  gambling  games.  The  Comanche 
puzzles,  tricks  and  problems  are  also  decidedly  superior 
to  those  of  any  other  nation.  The  gambling  bone  is  used 
by  the  Comanches.  The  leader  of  the  game  holds  it  up 
before  the  eyes  of  all,  so  that  all  can  see  it;  he  then 
closes  his  two  hands  over  it,  and  manipulates  it  so 
dexterously  in  his  fingers  that  it  is  simply  impossible  to 
tell  which  hand  the  bone  is  in.  In  a  moment  he  suddenly 
flings  each  closed  hand  on  either  side  of  him  down  into  the 
outreaching  hand  of  the  player  next  to  him. 

The  game  commences  at  this  point.  The  whole  line  of 
players  passes,  or  pretends  to  pass,  this  bone  on  from  one 
to  another,  until  at  last  every  hand  is  waving.  All  this 
time  the  eyes  along  the  opposite  line  of  gamblers  are 
eagerly  watching  each  shift  and  movement  of  the  hands, 
in  hopes  of  discovering  the  white  flash  of  the  bone.  At 
last  some  one  descries  the  hand  that  holds  the  bone,  or 
thinks  so.  He  points  out  and  calls  out  for  his  side.  The 
hand  must  instantly  be  thrown  up.  If  it  is  right,  the 
watching  side  scores  a  point  and  takes  the  bone.  The 
sides  change  off  in  this  way  until  the  game  is  won. 
The  full  score  is  twenty-one  points.  The  excitement  pro- 
duced by  this  game  is  at  times  simply  indescribable. 

The  Utes  play  with  two  bones  in  each  hand,  one  of 
which  is  wrapped  about  with  a  string.  The  game  is  to 
guess  the  hand  that  holds  the  wrapped  bone.  The  plum- 
stone  game  is  played  by  the  plains  Indians.  It  is  only 
another  name  for  dice  throwing.  The  plum-stones  are 


154  MY  NATIVE  LAXD. 

graved  with  hieroglyphics,  and  counts  are  curiously  made 
in  a  way  that  often  defies  computation  by  white  men. 
The  women  gamble  quite  as  much  as  the  men,  when  they 
dare,  and  grow  even  more  excited  over  the  game  than  their 
lords.  Their  game,  as  witnessed  among  the  Cheyennes, 
is  played  with  beads,  little  loops  and  long  horn  sticks 
made  of  deer  foot. 

The  children  look  on  and  learn  to  gamble  from  their 
earliest  childhood,  and  soon  learn  to  cheat  and  impose  on 
their  juniors.  Their  little  juvenile  gambling  operations 
are  done  principally  with  arrows.  Winter  breeds  sloth, 
and  sloth  begets  gambling,  and  gambling,  drink.  There 
is  no  conviviality  in  Indian  drinking  bouts.  The  Indian 
gets  drunk,  and  dead  drunk,  as  soon  as  he  possibly  can, 
and  finds  his  highest  enjoyment  in  sleeping  it  off.  His 
nature  reacts  viciously  under  drink,  however,  in  many 
cases,  and  he  is  then  a  dangerous  customer. 

The  wTomen  of  many  tribes  are  a  most  pitiable  lot  of 
hard  working,  ragged  and  dirty  humanity.  Upon  them 
falls  all  the  drudgery  of  the  camp;  they  are  "hewers  of 
wood  and  drawers  of  water,"  and  bend  under  immense 
burdens  piled  upon  their  backs,  while  thousands  of  ponies 
browse,  undisturbed,  in  every  direction.  As  the  troops 
are  withdrawn,  the  squaws  swoop  down  upon  the  deserted 
camps,  and  rapidly  glean  them  of  all  that  is  portable,  for 
use  in  their  domestic  economy.  An  Indian  fire  would  be 
considered  a  very  cheerless  affair  by  the  inmates  of  houses 
heated  by  modern  appliances;  but  such  as  it  is — a  few 
sticks  burning  with  feeble  blaze  and  scarcely  penetrating 
the  dense  smoke  filling  the  tepee  from  the  ground  to  the 
small  opening  at  the  top — it  consumes  fuel,  and  the  de- 
mand is  always  greater  than  the  supply,  for  the  reason 


WARDS  OF  OUR  NATIVE  LAND.        155 

that  an  Indian  has  no  idea  of  preparation  for  future  neces- 
sities. If  the  fire  burns,  all  right;  when  the  last  stick  is 
laid  on,  a  squaw  will  start  for  a  fresh  supply,  no  matter 
how  cold  and  stormy  the  weather  may  be. 

The  poetical  Indian  maiden  may  still  exist  in  the  vivid 
imagination  of  extreme  youth,  but  she  is  not  common 
to-day.  The  young  girls  affect  gay  attire,  and  are  exempt 
from  the  hardships  of  toil  which  are  imposed  on  their 
elder  sisters,  mothers  and  grandams,  but  their  fate  is 
infinitely  worse.  Little  beauty  is  to  be  discerned  among 
them,  and  in  this  regard  time  seems  to  have  effaced  the 
types  which  were  prevalent  a  few  years  ago. 

Annuity  day  is  a  great  event  in  the  life  of  every  Agency 
Indian,  and  if  the  reader  would  see  Indian  life  represented 
in  some  of  its  most  interesting  features,  there  is  no  more 
suitable  time  to  select  for  a  visit  to  any  Agency.  It  is  a 
" grand  opening,"  attended  by  the  whole  tribe;  but  the 
squaws  do  not  enjoy  quite  the  freedom  of  choice  in  the 
matter  of  dress  goods,  or  receive  such  prompt  attention 
from  the  clerks  as  our  city  ladies  are  accustomed  to. 
Even  at  9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  the  actual  distribution  would  not  take  place  until 
noon,  the  nation's  wards  are  there,  patiently  waiting  for 
the  business  of  the  day  to  begin.  Stakes  have  been  driven 
into  the  ground  to  mark  the  space  to  be  occupied  by  each 
band,  and  behind  them,  arranged  in  a  semicircle,  are  the 
different  families,  under  the  charge  of  a  head  man.  The 
bands  vary  in  numbers,  both  of  families  and  individuals, 
but  they  all  look  equally  solemn  as  they  sit  on  the  ground, 
with  their  knees  drawn  up  under  their  chins,  or  cross- 
legged  like  Turks  and  tailors. 

The  scene  now  becomes  one  of  bustle  and  activity  on 


156  MY  &ATIVE  LA3TD. 

the  part  of  the  Agency  people,  who  begin  rapidly  filling 
wagon  after  wagon  with  goods  from  the  store-houses. 
Blankets  of  dark  blue  material,  cotton  cloth,  calico  of  all 
colors  and  patterns,  red  flannel,  gay  woolen  shawls,  boots 
and  shoes  that  make  one's  feet  ache  to  look  at  them, 
coffee  pots,  water  buckets,  axes,  and  numerous  other 
articles,  are  piled  into  each  wagon  in  the  proportion  pre- 
viously determined  by  conference  with  the  head  men.  A 
ticket  is  then  given  to  the  driver,  bearing  the  number  of 
the  stake  and  the  name  of  the  head  man.  Away  goes  the 
wagon ;  the  goods  are  thrown  out  on  the  ground  in  a  pile 
at  the  proper  stake,  and  that  completes  the  formal  transfer 
to  the  head  man,  who  then  takes  charge  of  them,  and, 
with  the  assistance  of  a  few  of  the  bucks  designated  by 
himself,  divides  the  various  articles,  according  to  the 
wants  of  the  families  and  the  amount  of  goods  supplied. 

During  the  rush  and  fury  of  the  issue  and  division  of 
the  goods,  the  sombre  figures  in  the  background  have 
scarcely  moved.  Not  one  has  ventured  to  approach  the 
center  where  the  bucks  are  at  work,  measuring  off  the 
cloth,  etc. ;  they  are  waiting  for  the  tap  of  the  bell,  when 
they  will  receive  just  what  the  head  man  chooses  to  give 
them.  There  is  no  system  of  exchange  there;  it  is  take 
what  you  get  or  get  nothing.  In  a  great  many  cases  they 
do  not  use  the  goods  at  all,  but  openly  offer  them  for  sale 
to  the  whites,  who,  no  doubt,  find  it  profitable  to  purchase 
at  Indian  prices. 

As  soon  as  the  issue  is  completed,  a  crowd  of  Indians 
gather  in  front  of  the  trader's  store  to  indulge  their 
passion  for  gambling,  and  in  a  short  space  of  time  a  num- 
ber of  blankets  and  other  articles  change  hands  on  the 
result  of  pony  races,  foot  races  or  any  other  species  of 


WARDS  OF  OUR  NATIVE  LAND.        157 

excitement  that  can  be  invented.  There  is  a  white  man  on 
the  ground  who  is,  no  doubt,  a  professional  runner,  and 
the  Indians  back  their  favorite  against  him  in  a  purse  of 
over  $30.00,  which  the  white  man  covers,  and  wins 
the  race  by  a  few  inches.  The  Indians  will  not  give  up, 
and  make  similar  purses  on  the  two  succeeding  days,  only 
to  lose  by  an  inch  or  two.  There  is  a  master  of  ceremo- 
nies, who  displays  a  wonderful  control  over  the  Indians. 
He  makes  all  the  bets  for  the  red  men,  collecting  different 
amounts  for  a  score*or  more,  but  never  forgetting  a  single 
item  or  person. 

Ration  day  brings  out  the  squaws  and  dogs  in  full 
force;  the  one  to  pack  the  rations  to  camp,  and  the  latter 
to  pick  up  stray  bits.  A  few  at  a  time  the  squaws  enter 
the  store-house  and  receive  their  week's  supply  of  flour, 
coffee,  sugar,  salt,  etc.,  for  themselves  and  families.  The 
beef  is  issued  directly  from  the  slaughter-house,  and  the 
proceeding  is  anything  but  appetizing  to  watch.  The 
beeves  to  be  killed  are  first  driven  into  a  corral,  where  they 
are  shot  by  the  Indian  butchers;  when  the  poor  beasts 
have  been  shot  to  death,  they  are  dragged  to  the  door  of 
the  slaughter-house  and  passed  through  the  hands  of  half- 
naked  bucks,  who  seem  to  glory  in  the  profusion  of  blood, 
and  eagerly  seek  the  position  on  account  of  the  perquisites 
attached  to  it  in  the  way  of  tempting  (?)  morsels  which 
usually  go  to  the  dogs  or  on  the  refuse  heap.  The  beef 
is  issued-  as  fast  as  it  can  be  cut  up,  at  the  rate  of  half  a 
pound  a  day  for  each  person,  regardless  of  age;  bacon  is 
also  issued  as  a  part  of  the  meat  ration. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

CIVILIZATION ACTUAL    AND    ALLEGED. 

Tried  in  the  Balances  and  Found  Wanting — Indian  Archers — Bow 
and  Arrow  Lore — Barbarous  Customs  that  Die  Slowly— "Great 
Wolf,"  the  Indian  Vanderbilt— How  the  Seri  were  Taught  a 
Valuable  Lesson — Playing  with  Rattlesnakes  with  Impunity. 

TTjOES  Prohibition  prohibit?  is  a  question  politicians 
**^  and  social  reformers  ask  again  and  again.  Does 
civilization  civilize?  is  a  question  which  is  asked  almost 
exclusively  by  persons  who  are  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
the  American  Indian,  and  who  come  in  daily  contact 
with  him. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  seen  some  little  of 
the  peculiar  habits  of  the  American  Indian,  civilized  and 
otherwise,  and  it  will  be  interesting  now  to  see  to  what 
extent  the  white  man's  teaching  has  driven  away  primeval 
habits  of  living,  hunting  and  fighting.  Within  the  last 
few  weeks,  evidence  of  a  most  valuable  character  on  this 
question  has  been  furnished  by  the  report  submitted  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  by  the  Commission  sent  to 
investigate  matters  concerning  the  five  civilized  tribes  of 
Indians  in  the  Indian  Territory.  This  says  that  they  have 
demonstrated  their  incapacity  to  govern  themselves,  and 
recommends  that  the  trust  that  has  been  reposed  in  them 
by  the  Government  should  be  revoked. 

The  courts  of  justice  have  become  helpless  and  par- 
alyzed. Murder,  violence  and  robbery  are  an  every-day 
occurrence.  It  was  learned  by  the  Commission  that 

(158) 


CIVILIZATION— Actual  and  Alleged.         159 

fifty-three  murders  occurred  in  the  months  of  September 
and  October  in  one  tribe  only,  and  not  one  of  the  culprits 
was  brought  to  justice.  The  Dawes  Commission  recom- 
mends that  a  large  portion  of  the  Indian  reservation  be 
annexed  to  Oklahoma ;  this  action  to  be  followed  by  form- 
ing that  country  into  a  Territory.  But  to  accomplish  this, 
it  would  be  necessary  that  the  consent  of  the  Indians  br 
obtained,  and  this  is  doubtful. 

The  statement  that  the  Indians  have  cast  aside  thei 
ancient  weapons  and  adopted  more  modern  ones,  and  that 
through  the  use  of  them,  they  are  gradually  extending 
their  hunting  grounds  beyond  the  lines  of  their  reserva- 
tions, is  false.  The  report  of  the  Commission  makes  this 
clearly  known.  Throughout  the  West  the  Indians  still 
trust  to  their  bows  and  arrows.  On  the  northwest  coast 
most  of  the  Indians  live  by  hunting  and  fishing.  They 
use  principally  the  bow  and  arrow,  knife,  war  club  and 
lance.  In  the  North  Pacific  Ocean  are  several  islands 
inhabited  only  by  Indians.  In  the  Queen  Charlotte  and 
the  Prince  of  Wales  Archipelago  is  found  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  races  of  aborigines  on  the  American  continent. 
These  are  the  Haida  tribes,  and  consist  of  strikingly 
intelligent  Indians.  They  acquire  knowledge  readily ; 
learn  trades  and  exhibit  much  ingenuity  in  following  the 
teachings  of  missionaries  and  traders.  But  for  all  that, 
they  still  cling  with  something  bordering  upon  affection  to 
the  primitive  weapons  of  their  race. 

During  the  long  winter  nights  the  old  Indians  seat 
themselves  before  the  fire  and  carve  bows,  ornament  club 
handles,  and  feather  and  point  arrows.  Perhaps  in  some 
of  the  tepees  hang  polished  guns  furnished  by  the  Govern- 
ment, but  they  are  more  for  ornament  than  use.  This 


160  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

evening  work  is  accompanied  by  the  low  croaking  of  some 
old  Indian,  who  tells  over  again  the  legends,  folk-lore  and 
nursery  tales  of  their  grandfathers  and  grandmothers. 

The  Haida  tribe  is  more  rapidly  advancing  in  civiliza- 
tion than  any  of  its  neighbors,  yet  they  still  carve  and 
paint  bows,  arrows,  club  handles  and  paddles.  The  Indians 
still  cling  to  other  rude  implements  and  take  not  kindly 
to  metal  ones.  Rude  knives  are  still  used  for  skinning 
deer,  especially  by  the  old  Indians.  The  axe,  of  course,  is 
employed  for  cutting  trees  and  excavating  canoes  and 
mortars.  It  h'as  really  taken  the  place  of  the  stone  chisel, 
yet  many  old  men  prefer  burning  the  roots  of  the  tree 
until  it  can  be  made  to  fall  by  giving  it  a  few  hacks  with 
the  rude  stone  hatchet. 

In  archery,  the  Indian  has  scarcely  been  excelled.. 
With  a  quick  eye  and  a  powerful  muscle,  he  sends  the 
arrow  as  unerringly  as  the  archers  of  olden  time. 

The  Indian  bow  is  usually  from  three  and  one-half  to 
four  feet  in  length,  with  such  a  difficult  spring  that  one 
with  no  experience  can  scarcely  bend  it  sufficiently  to  set 
the  string.  Different  tribes,  of  course,  carry  bows  of  dif- 
ferent lengths,  the  Senecas  having  the  longest.  The  best 
of  woods  for  making  bows  are  Osage  orange,  hickory,  ash, 
elrn,  cedar,  plum  and  cherry;  some  of  these  are  strength- 
ened with  sinews  and  glue.  Almost  every  tribe  has  three 
sizes,  the  largest  being  used  for  war  purposes,  and  until 
an  Indian  can  handle  this  war  bow,  he  is  not  considered 
entitled  to  be  called  a  warrior. 

Some  claim  the  Sioux  and  the  Crows  make  the  best 
bows,  although  the  Apaches  come  close  in  the  rank. 
When  the  Sioux  bow  is  unstrung,  it  is  a  straight  piece  of 
wood,  while  the  Apaches  and  the  Southern  Indians  make  a 


An  Uncivilized  Savage. 


CIVILIZATION— Actual  and  Alleged.         163 

perfect  Cupid's  bow.  The  Crows  often  use  elk  horns  as 
material,  and  carve  them  beautifully.  The  Sioux,  to  make 
the  straight  piece  of  wood  more  elastic,  string  the  backs 
with  sinews.  Often  these  are  beautifully  beaded  and 
leathered,  quite  equaling,  as  a  piece  of  art,  the  elaborate 
elk  horn  bows  made  by  the  Crows.  The  Comanches' 
bows  are  covered  with  sinew,  much  like  those  of  the 
Apaches.  The  object  of  practice  is  to  enable  the  bowman 
to  draw  the  bow  with  sudden  and  instant  effect.  It  is 
seldom  that  the  Indian  has  need  of  throwing  the  arrow  to 
a  great  distance. 

The  bow  of  the  Western  Indian  is  small  and  apparently 
insignificant,  though  its  owner  makes  it  very  powerful, 
indeed.  From  his  babyhood  days  he  has  habituated  it  to 
his  use,  until  it  has  become,  as  it  were,  a  very  part  of  his 
nature.  The  Indian  studies  to  get  the  greatest  power  out 
of  the  smallest  possible  compass,  and  he  finds  a  short  bow 
on  horseback  far  more  easily  used  and  much  more  reliable 
in  its  execution.  In  the  Far  West,  bows  are  made  largely 
of  ash,  and  are  lined  with  layers  of  buffalo  or  deer  sinews 
on  the  back.  The  Blackfeet  have  in  use  very  valuable 
bows  of  bone.  Other  tribes  make  use  of  the  horns  of 
mountain  sheep.  Sometimes  the  bone  bows  will  fetch  very 
large  sums  of  money,  and  deals  have  been  noticed  in  which 
the  consideration  for  one  of  them  was  a  pair  of  ponies, 
with  five  pounds  of  butter  thrown  in  as  make-weight. 

An  athletic  Indian  on  a  fleet  horse  can  do  terrible 
execution  with  one  of  these  bows,  which,  even  in  these 
days  of  repeating  rifles,  is  by  no  means  to  be  despised  as  a 
weapon.  No  one  can  estimate  the  force  of  a  throw  from 
one  of  them  when  an  artistic  archer  is  in  charge.  The 
effects  from  a  wound  from  an  arrow  are  so  distressing  lhat 
10 


1G4  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

it  is  quite  common  to  accuse  an  Indian  of  using  poisoned 
arrows,  when  possibly  such  a  fiendish  idea  never  entered 
his  head.  Only  those  who  have  ridden  side  by  side  with 
an  Indian  hunter  really  know  how  much  more  powerful 
an  arrow  shot  is  than  the  average  man  supposes. 

In  war  the  Indians  would  even  now  arm  themselves  in 
part  with  bow,  quiver,  lance,  war  club  and  shield.  The 
Northwestern  tribes  are  partial  to  fighting  with  the  bow  and 
lance,  protected  with  a  shield.  This  shield  is  worn  out- 
side of  the  left  arm,  after  the  manner  of  the  Roman  and 
Grecian  shield. 

The  Western  Indians  are  fonder  of  horseback  riding 
than  the  Eastern  tribes,  and  have  learned  to  wield  their 
weapons  while  mounted.  They  are  taught  to  kill  game 
while  running  at  full  speed,  and  prefer  to  fight  on  horse- 
back. Some  of  them  are  great  cowards  when  dismounted, 
but  seated  on  an  Indian  pony  they  are  undaunted. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  arrow-heads  are  no 
longer  manufactured ;  the  art  of  fashioning  them  is  not 
lost.  Almost  every  tribe  manufactures  its  own.  Bowlders 
of  flint  are  broken  with  a  sledge-hammer  made  of  a 
rounded  pebble  of  hornstone  set  in  a  twisted  withe.  This 
bone  is  thought  to  be  the  tooth  of  the  sperm  whale.  In 
Oregon  the  Indian  arrow  is  still  pointed  with  flint.  The 
Iroquois  also  used  flint  until  they  laid  aside  the  arrow  for 
the  lack  of  anything  to  hunt.  The  Iroquois  youth,  though 
the  rifle  has  been  introduced  largely  into  his  tribe,  will 
have  non  *  of  it,  but  takes  naturally  to  the  bow  and  arrow. 
Steel  for  nrrow-heads  is  furnished  by  the  fur-traders  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  iron  heads  are  often  made  .from  old 
barrel  hoops,  fashioned  with  a  piece  of  sandstone. 
In  shooting  with  the  bow  and  arrow  on  horseback,  the 


CIVILIZATION— Actual  and  Alleged.         165 

Indian  horse  is  taught  to  approach  the  animal  attacked  on 
the  right  side,  enabling  its  rider  to  throw  the  arrow  to  the 
left.  Buffalo  Bill  was  an  adept  at  slaughtering  game  on 
horseback,  and  he  won  his  great  bet  at  killing  the  greatest 
number  of  buffaloes,  by  following  the  custom  of  the 
Indians  and  shooting  to  the  left.  The  horse  approaches 
the  animal,  his  halter  hanging  loose  upon  his  neck,  bring- 
ing the  rider  within  three  or  four  paces  of  the  game,  when 
the  arrow  or  rifle  ^ball  is  sent  with  ease  and  certainty 
through  the  heart. 

Indians  who  have  the  opportunity  to  ride  nowadays, 
still  exercise  with  a  lance  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  length. 
In  their  war  games  and  dances  they  always  appear  with 
this  lance  and  shield.  The  spears  are  modern  and  have  a 
blade  of  polished  steel,  and  the  shields  are  made  of  skin. 
Those  of  old  make  are  of  buffalo  neck.  The  skin  is 
soaked  and  hardened  with  a  glue  extracted  from  the  hoofs. 
The  shields  are  arrow-proof,  and  will  throw  off  a  rifle  shot 
if  held  obliquely,  and  this  the  Indian  can  do  with  great 
skill.  Since  there  is  no  war  or  the  occasion  for  the  use  of 
these  arms,  except  in  games  of  practice,  many  of  the 
Indians,  for  a  few  bottles  of  "fire  water,"  have  sold  their 
best  shields,  and  now  they  are  seen  scattered  over  the 
country,  preserved  as  curios. 

It  is  folly  to  assume  that  the  Indians  have  wholly  or 
partly  done  away  with  their  barbaric  customs.  In  their 
celebrations  it  is  their  great  joy  to  cast  off  their  clothing 
and  to  paint  their  bodies  all  colors  of  the  rainbow,  wear 
horns  on  their  heads  and  make  themselves  look  as  hideous 
as  possible.  The  arrow  game  is  introduced — never  are 
there  demonstrations  with  the  modern  weapons — and  the 
man  is  esteemed  above  all  others  who  can  throw  the 


166  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

greatest  number  of  arrows  in  the  sky  before  the  first  one 
falls.  In  hunting,  the  Sioux  kill  muskrats  with  spears,  as 
they  did  in  early  days  spear  the  buffaloes,  managing  to  get 
close  to  them  by  being  dressed  in  wolf  skin,  and  going  on 
all  fours.  There  are  Indians  who  would,  on  horseback, 
attack  and  kill  a  bear  with  a  lance,  but  are  afraid  to  molest 
the  animal  unless  they  have  the  Indian  pony  as  a  means  of 
escape. 

The  arrow-heads  of  chert  used  for  hunting  are  pecul- 
iarly fastened,  in  order  to  make  the  arrow  revolve.  The 
Indian  feathers  the  arrow  for  the  same  purpose,  and  also 
carves  the  arrow  shaft  with  a  spiral  groove.  This  is  not, 
as  has  been  supposed,  to  let  the  blood  out  of  the  wound, 
but  to  make  the  arrow  carry. 

Every  tribe  has  its  own  arrow.  It  is  claimed  that  the 
Pawnees  are  the  best  manufacturers.  The  Comanches 
feather  their  arrows  with  two  feathers;  the  Navajos, 
Utes  and  all  Apaches,  except  the  Tontos,  have  three 
feathers — the  Tontos  using  four  feathers  for  each  shaft. 
The  bird  arrow  is  the  very  smallest  made. 

"  I  have  practiced"  says  one  traveler,  "  for  hours  with 
the  Utes,  uselessly  trying  to  blame  the  twist  of  the  feath- 
ered arrow  for  my  bad  shots.  The  Indians  say  the  carving 
and  feathers  are  so  arranged  as  to  give  the  arrow  the  cor- 
rect motion,  and  one  old  chief  on  seeing  the  twist  in  the 
rifle  barrel  by  which  the  ball  is  made  to  revolve  in  the 
same  manner,  claimed  that  the  white  man  stole  his  idea 
from  the  Indian." 

Stones,  with  grooves  around  their  greatest  circumfer- 
ence, are  secured  to  a  handle  by  a  withe  or  thong  and 
become  war  clubs.  They  are  dangerous  weapons  in  the 
hand  of  an  Indian.  Tomahawks,  manufactured  by  white 


CIVILIZATION— Actual  and  Alleged.         167 

men,  have  succeeded  the  war  club  in  a  way,  as  it  is  claimed 
the  rifle  has  the  bow  and  arrow.  Recent  tomahawks 
taken  from  the  Indians  bear  an  English  trade-mark.  They 
originally  cost  about  15  cents,  and  were  sold  to  the  Indians 
for  nothing  less  than  a  horse,  and  perhaps  two. 

Chief  "Wolf,"  an  Indian  Croesus,  and  the  Vanderbilt  of 
the  red  men,  though  he  is  worth  over  $500,000  and  drives 
at  times  in  an  elegant  coach,  clings  closely  to  his  tepee, 
ever  demonstrating'the  savage  part  of  his  life. 

He  lives  at  Fishhook  Bay,  on  the  Snake  River,  in  the 
State  of  Washington.  He  is  of  the  Palouse  Snake  Indians, 
and  though  he  has  a  comfortable  house,  he  never  sleeps 
there,  but  goes  to  the  tepee,  no  matter  how  inclement  the 
weather.  In  the  days  when  the  buffalo  were  plenty, 
"Wolf"  was  a  great  hunter.  He  tells  a  tale  of  driving 
3,000  bison  over  a  bluff  near  the  Snake,  where  they  were 
all  killed  by  the  fall.  This  is  supposed  to  be  true,  because 
until  late  years  the  place  was  a  mass  of  bones.  Though 
he  has  his  guns  and  all  the  modern  fire-arms,  both  he 
and  his  children  cling  to  the  primitive  weapons  of  war. 

The  correspondence  between  the  Governments  of  the 
United  States  and  Mexico  over  the  brutal  murder  of  two 
men  by  the  Seri  Indians,  seems  to  show  that  some  at  least 
of  the  North  American  Indians  have  gained  nothing  at  all 
from  the  civilizing  influences  which  are  supposed  to  have 
extended  for  so  many  years.  The  deed  had  no  other 
motive  than  pure  fiendishness.  Small  as  is  the  tribe  of 
Seris — they  number  only  about  200  souls — these  savages 
are  the  most  blood-thirsty  in  North  America.  For  a  long 
time  they  have  terrorized  Sonora,  but  the  Mexican  Govern- 
ment seems  powerless  to  control  them. 

The  tribe  was  visited  recently  by  an  expedition  from 


168  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  which  has  just  returned  to 
Washington  with  some  very  interesting  information. 
Prof.  W.  J.  McGee,  who  led  the  party,  says:  "It  is 
understood  that  the  Seris  are  cannibals — at  all  events  they 
eat  every  white  man  they  can  slay.  They  are  cruel  and 
treacherous  beyond  description.  Toward  the  white  man, 
their  attitude  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  of  a  white  man 
toward  a  rattlesnake — they  kill  him  as  a  matter  of  course, 
unless  restrained  by  fear.  Never  do  they  fight  in  open 
warfare,  but  always  lie  in  ambush.  They  are  copper- 
colored  Ishmaelites.  It  is  their  custom  to  murder  every- 
body, white,  red  or  Mexican,  who  ventures  to  enter  the 
territory  they  call  their  own." 

In  many  respects  the  Seris  are  the  most  interesting 
tribe  of  savages  in  North  America.  They  are  decidedly 
more  primitive  in  their  way  than  any  other  Indians,  having 
scarcely  any  arts  worth  mentioning.  In  fact,  they  have 
not  yet  advanced  as  far  as  the  stone  age.  The  only  stone 
implement  in  common  use  among  them  is  a  rude  hammer 
of  that  material,  which  they  employ  for  beating  clay  to 
make  a  fragile  and  peculiar  kind  of  pottery.  When  one 
of  the  squaws  wishes  to  make  meal  of  mesquite  beans,  and 
she  has  no  utensil  for  the  purpose,  she  looks  about  until 
she  finds  a  rock  with  an  upper  surface,  conveniently  hol- 
low, and  on  this  she  places  the  beans,  pounding  them  with 
an  ordinary  stone. 

The  Seris  live  on  the  Island  of  Tiburon,  in  the  Gulf  of 
California.  They  also  claim  5,000  square  miles  of  the 
mainland  in  Sonora.  Their  dwellings  are  the  rudest  im- 
aginable. A  chance  rock  commonly  serves  for  one  wall  of 
the  habitation ;  stones  are  piled  up  so  as  to  make  a  small 
enclosure,  and  the  shell  of  a  single  great  turtle  does  for 


CIVILIZATION— Actual  and  Alleged.         169 

a  roof.  The  house  is  always  open  on  one  side,  and  is 
not  intended  as  a  shelter  from  storms,  but  chiefly  to  keep 
off  the  sun.  The  men  and  women  wear  a  single  garment 
like  a  petticoat,  made  of  pelican  skin;  the  children  are 
naked.  Not  far  from  Tiburon,  which  is  about  thirty  miles 
long  by  fifteen  miles  wide,  there  is  a  smaller  island  where 
•pelicans  roost  in  vast  numbers.  The  Seris  go  at  night  and 
with  sticks  knock  o^er  as  many  birds  as  they  require. 

These  Indians  are  fond  of  carrion.  It  makes  no  differ- 
ence to  them  whether  a  horse  has  died  a  natural  death  a 
week  or  a  month  ago,  they  devour  the  flesh  greedily.  The 
feet  of  the  animal  they  boil  until  those  parts  are  tender 
enough  to  bite.  The  Seris  are  among  the  very  dirtiest 
of  savages.  Their  habits  in  all  respects  are  filthy.  They 
seem  to  have  almost  no  amusements,  though  the  children 
play  with  the  very  rudest  dolls.  Before  the  whites  came 
they  used  pieces  of  shells  for  cutting  instruments.  They 
arc  accustomed  to  killing  deer  by  running  and  surrounding 
the  animals.  No  traditions  of  sufficient  interest  to  justify 
recording  in  print  appear  to  exist  among  these  people. 
The  most  interesting  ornament  seen  on  any  member  of  the 
tribe  was  a  necklace  of  human  hair,  adorned  with  the 
rattles  of  rattlesnakes,  which  abound  in  the  territory 
infested  with  these  remnants  of  all  that  is  most  objection- 
able among  the  aboriginal  red  men  of  this  continent. 

Physically  speaking,  the  Seris  are  most  remarkable. 
They  are  of  great  stature,  the  men  averaging  nearly  six 
feet  in  height,  with  splendid  chests.  But  the  most 
noticeable  point  about  them  is  their  legs,  which  are  very 
slender  and  sinewy,  resembling  the  legs  of  the  deer. 
Since  the  first  coming  of  the  Spaniards  they  have  been 
known  to  other  tribes  as  the  runners.  It  is  said  that  they 


170  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

can  run  from  150  to  200  miles  per  day,  not  pausing  for 
rest.  The  jack  rabbit  is  considered  a  very  fleet  animal, 
yet  these  Indians  are  accustomed  to  catch  jack  rabbits  by 
outrunning  them. 

For  this  purpose,  three  men  or  boys  go  together.  If 
the  rabbit  ran  straight  away  from  the  pursuer  it  could  not 
be  taken,  but  its  instinct  is  to  make  its  flight  by  zigzags.' 
The  hunters  arrange  themselves  a  short  distance  apart. 
As  quickly  as  one  of  them  starts  a  rabbit,  a  second  Indian 
runs  as  fast  as  he  can  along  a  line  parallel  with  the  course 
taken  by  the  animal.  Presently  the  rabbit  sees  the  second 
Indian,  and  dashes  off  at  a  tangent.  By  this  time  the 
third  hunter  has  come  up  and  gives  the  quarry  another 
turn.  After  the  third  or  fourth  zigzag,  the  rabbit  is  sur- 
rounded, and  the  hunters  quickly  close  in  upon  him  and 
grab  him. 

It  is  an  odd  fact  that  this  method  of  catching  jack 
rabbits  is  precisely  the  same  as  that  adopted  by  coyotes, 
which  work  similarily  by  threes.  By  this  strategy, 
these  wild  dogs  capture  the  rabbits,  though  the  latter 
are  more  fleet  by  far.  It  is  believed  that  no  other  human 
being  approaches  the  Seris  in  celerity  of  movement.  A 
favorite  sport  of  the  boys  is  lassoing  dogs.  Mongrel  curs 
are  the  only  animals  domesticated  by  these  wild  people. 
For  amusement  sake,  the  boys  take  their  dogs  to  a  clear 
place  and  drive  them  in  all  directions,  then  they  capture 
the  frightened  animals  by  running  and  throwing  the  lassos, 
which  are  made  of  human  hair.  They  have  no  difficulty 
in  overtaking  the  dogs. 

D  O 

One  day,  a  party  of  boys  returning  with  their  dogs 
after  a  bout  of  this  sport,  passed  near  a  bush  in  which 
there  were  three  or  four  blackbirds;  on  spying  the  birds, 


CIVILIZATION— Actual  and  Alleged.         Ill 

they  dashed  toward  the  bush  and  tried  to  catch  them  with 
their  hands;  they  did  not  succeed,  though  one  of  the 
birds  only  escaped  with  the  loss  of  several  feathers. 
Some  women  of  the  tribe  were  watching,  and  they  actually 
jeered  at  the  boys  for  their  failure.  The  boys  were  so 
mortified  that  they  did  not  go  into  camp,  but  went  off  and 
sat  by  themselves  jp.  the  shade  of  a  greasewood  bush. 
What  white  man  or  boy  would  think  of  catching  black- 
birds in  such  a  way?  Yet  non-success  in  an  attempt  of 
that  kind  was  the  exception  and  not  the  rule.  The  Seris 
often  take  birds  in  this  fashion. 

Senor  Encinas  was  the  pioneer  in  that  region.  He 
found  good  grazing  country  in  the  territory  claimed  by 
the  Seris,.  and  so  established  his  stock  farm  there.  He 
brought  priests  with  him  to  convert  the  savages,  and 
caught  a  couple  of  the  latter  to  educate  as  interpreters. 
The  plan  for  civilizing  the  Indians  proved  a  failure.  They 
did  not  care  to  become  Christians,  and  they  killed  the 
Senor 's  stock.  So,  finally,  the  Sefior  decided  to  adopt  a 
new  course  of  procedure.  He  summoned  the  Indians  to 
a  council,  as  many  of  them  as  would  come,  and  informed 
them  that  from  that  time  on  he  and  his  vaqueros  would 
slay  an  Indian  for  every  head  of  cattle  that  was  killed. 
At  the  same  time  he  sent  away  the  priests  and  engaged  an 
additional  number  of  vaqueros. 

The  Indians  paid  no  attention  to  the  warning,  and  a 
few  days  later  they  killed  several  head  of  cattle.  Without 
delay  the  Senor  and  his  men  coralled  and  killed  a  corre- 
sponding number  of  the  Seris.  Then  there  was  war. 
The  savages  made  ambushes,  but  they  had  only  bows  and 
arrows,  and  the  vaqueros  fought  bravely  with  their  guns. 
Every  ambush  turned  out  disastrously  for  the  Indians. 


172  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

Finally,  the  Seris  made  a  great  ambush,  and  there  was  a 
battle  which  resulted  in  the  killing  of  sixty -five  savages. 
The  lesson  proved  sufficient,  and  the  Indians  were  glad  to 
conclude  a  permanent  peace,  agreeing  that  no  further 
depredations  against  the  Senor  or  his  property  should  be 
attempted.  From  beginning  to  end  the  fighting  lasted  ten 
years. 

After  the  killing  of  the  two  Americans,  the  Seris  were 
very  much  afraid  of  reprisals.  For  a  good  while  they  did 
not  dare  to  come  to  the  ranch  of  Senor  Encinas,  but  at 
length  one  old  woman  came  for  the  philosophical  purpose 
of  seeing  if  she  would  be  killed.  She  was  well  treated  and 
went  away.  Eventually  confidence  was  restored,  and  about 
sixty  of  the  savages  were  visiting  on  the  premises. 

No  other  people  in  North  America  have  so  few  concep- 
tions of  civilization  as  the  Seris.  They  have  absolutely  no 
agriculture.  As  well  as  can  be  ascertained  they  never  put 
a  seed  into  the  ground  or  cultivate  a  plant.  They  live 
almost  wholly  on  fish,  water  fowl,  and  such  game  as  they 
kill  on  the  main  land.  The  game  includes  large  deer,  like 
black  tails,  and  exquisite  species  of  dwarf  deer,  about 
the  size  of  a  three  months'  fawn,  pecarries,  wild  turkeys, 
prairie  dogs,  rabbits  and  quail.  They  take  very  large 
green  turtles  in  the  Gulf  of  California.  Mesquite  beans 
they  eat  both  cooked  and  raw.  The  mesquite  is  a  small 
tree  that  bears  seeds  in  pods. 

The  snake  dance  is  another  evidence  of  the  comparative 
failure  of  civilization  to  civilize.  This  is  seen  chiefly  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado. 
Venomous  rattlesnakes  are  used  in  the  dance,  which  is 
an  annual  affair.  Hundreds  of  snakes  are  caught  for  the 

o 

occasion,  and  when  the  great  day  arrives  the  devotees  rush 


CIVILIZATION— Actual  and  Alleged.         173 

into  the  corral  and  each  seizes  a  rattler  for  his  purpose. 
Reliable  authorities,  who  have  witnessed  this  dance, 
vouch  for  the  fact  that  the  snakes  are  not  in  any  way 
robbed  of  their  power  to  implant  their  poisonous  fangs 
into  the  flesh  of  the  dancers.  It  even  appears  as  though 
the  greater  the  number  of  bites,  the  more  delighted  are  the 
participants,  who  hold  the  reptiles  in  the  most  careless 
manner  and  allow  t^iem  to  strike  where  they  will,  and  to 
plant  their  horrible  fangs  into  the  most  vulnerable  parts 
with  impunity.  When  the  dance  is  over,  the  snakes  are 
taken  back  to  the  woods  and  given  their  liberty,  the  super- 
stition prevailing  that  for  the  space  of  one  year  the 
reptiles  will  protect  the  tribe  from  all  ill  or  suffering. 

The  main  interest  attached  to  this  dance  is  the  secret 
of  why  it  'is  the  dancers  do  not  die  promptly.  No  one 
doubts  the  power  of  the  rattlesnake  to  kill.  Liberal 
potations  of  whisky  are  supposed  by  some  people  to  serve 
as  an  antidote,  while  Mexicans  and  some  tribes  of  Indians 
olaim  to  have  knowledge  of  a  herb  which  will  also  prolong 
the  life  of  a  man  stung  by  a  snake  and  apparently  doomed 
to  an  early  death.  Tradition  tells  us  that  for  the  purposes 
of  this  dance,  a  special  antidote  has  been  handed  down 
from  year  to  year,  and  from  generation  to  generation,  by 
the  priests  of  the  Moquis.  It  is  stated  that  one  of  the 
patriarchs  of  old  had  the  secret  imparted  to  him  under 
pledges  and  threats  of  inviolable  secrecy.  By  him  it  has 
been  perpetuated  with  great  care,  being  always  known  to 
three  persons,  the  high  priest  of  the  tribe,  his  vice-regent 
and  proclaimed  successor,  and  the  oldest  woman  among 
them.  On  the  death  of  any  one  of  the  three  trustees  of 
the  secret,  the  number  is  made  up  in  the  manner  ordered 
by  the  rites  of  the  tribal  religion,  and  to  reveal  the 


174  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

secret  in  any  other  way  is  to  invite  a  sudden  and  an  awful 
death. 

During  the  three  days  spent  by  the  dancers  in  hunting 
snakes,  it  is  stated  that  the  secret  decoction  is  freely 
administered  to  them,  and  that  in  consequence  they  handle 
the  reptiles  with  perfect  confidence.  When  they  are  bitten 
there  is  a  slight  irritation  but  nothing  worse.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  is  often  a  heavy  loss  of  life  during  the 
year  from  snake  bites,  for  the  sacred  antidote  is  only  used 
on  the  stated  occasion  for  which  it  was,  so  the  legend  runs, 
specially  prepared  or  its  nature  revealed. 

The  people  living  within  almost  sight  of  the  Grand 
Canon  vary  as  much  in  habits  and  physique  as  does  the 
scenery  and  general  contour  of  the  canon  vary  in  appear- 
ance. The  Cliff  Dwellers  and  the  Pueblos  do  not  as  a 
rule  impress  the  stranger  with  their  physical  development, 
nor  are  they  on  the  average  exceptionally  tall  or  heavy. 
There  are,  however,  small  tribes  in  which  physical  devel- 
opment has  been,  and  still  is,  a  great  feature.  Unlike  the 
Pueblos,  these  larger  men  wear  little  clothing,  so  that  their 
muscular  development  and  the  size  of  their  limbs  are  more 
conspicuous.  Naturally  skilled  hunters,  these  powerful 
members  of  the  human  race  climb  up  and  down  the  most 
dangerous  precipices,  and  lead  an  almost  ideal  life  in  the 
most  inaccessible  of  spots. 

The  Maricopa  Indians  must  be  included  among  those 
whose  general  appearance  seems  to  invite  admiration,  how- 
ever much  one  may  regret  the  absence  of  general  civiliza- 
tion and  education.  These  men  are  for  the  most  part 
honest,  if  not  hard  working,  and  they  are  by  no  means 
unpleasant  neighbors.  Right  near  them  are  the  homes  of 
smaller  Indians,  who  have  reduced  peculation  to  a  fine  art, 


CIVILIZATION— Actual  and  Alleged.         175 

and  who  steal  on  general  principles.  We  have  all  heard  of 
the  little  boy  who  prefers  to  steal  poor  apples  from  his 
neighbor's  tree  to  picking  up  good  ones  in  his  fatherV 
orchard.  Much  the  same  idea  seems  to  prevail  amon£ 
these  Indians.  They  will  frequently  spend  several  hours 
and  even  the  greater  portion  of  a  day,  maneuvering  t< 
secure  some  smalFarticle  worth  but  a  few  cents  to  any  one. 
They  have  a  way  of  ingratiating  themselves  with  white 
tourists,  and  offering  to  act  as  guides  not  only  to  spots  of 
special  beauty,  but  also  to  mines  of  great  value.  When 
they  succeed  in  convincing  strangers  of  their  reliability, 
they  are  happy,  and  at  once  proceed  to  exhibit  the  peculiar 
characteristics  of  their  race.  Pocket  handkerchiefs,  stock- 
ings and  hats  are  believed  to  be  the  articles  after  which 
they  seek  with  the  most  vigor.  They  are,  however,  not 
particular  as  to  what  they  secure,  and  anything  that  is  left 
unguarded  for  but  a  few  hours,  or  even  minutes,  is  certain 
to  be  missed.  The  perquisites  thus  obtained  or  retained 
are  regarded  as  treasure  trove.  When  first  charged  with 
having  stolen  anything,  they  deny  all  knowledge  of  the 
offense,  and  protest  their  innocence  in  an  amusing  man- 
ner. When,  however,  convincing  proof  is  obtained,  and 
the  missing  article  discovered,  the  convicted  thief  thinks 
the  matter  a  good  joke,  and  laughs  most  heartily  at  the 
credulity  and  carelessness  of  the  white  man. 


CHAPTER  X. 

OLD    TIME    COMMUNISTS. 

Houses  on  Rocks  and  Sand  Hills — How  Many  Families  Dwelt  Together 
in  Unity — Peculiarities  of  Costumes — Pueblo  Architecture  and  Folk 
Lore — A  Historic  Struggle  and  How  it  Ended — Legends  Concern- 
ing Montezuma — Curious  Religious  Ceremonies. 

the  most  peculiar  people  to  be  found  in 
our  native  land  are  the  Pueblos,  who  live  in 
New  Mexico  between  the  Grande  and  Colorado  Rivers. 
When  Coronado,  the  great  explorer,  marched  through  the 
territory  450  years  ago,  he  found  these  people  in  a  condi- 
tion of  at  least  comparative  civilization.  They  were 
living  in  large  houses,  each  capable  of  accommodating 
several  families,  and  solidly  built.  Although  they  had 
wandering  bands  of  robbers  for  their  nearest  neighbors, 
they  were  able  to  defend  themselves  against  all  comers,  and 
were  content  and  prosperous.  Their  weapons,  although 
primitive,  were  quite  scientific,  and  were  handled  with 
much  skill  as  well  as  bravery. 

For  two  years  they  \vere  able  to  withstand  the  Spanish 
invaders  in  their  "casas-grandes."  It  had  been  reported 
to  the  Spanish  commanders  that  several  hundred  miles  in 
the  north  lay  a  great  empire  named  Cibola,  which  had  seven 
large  cities.  In  these  were  long  streets,  on  which  only 
gold  and  silversmiths  resided ;  imposing  palaces  towered 
in  the  suburbs,  with  doors  and  columns  of  pure  turquoise; 
the  windows  were  made  of  precious  stones  brilliantly  pol- 
ished. At  the  sumptuous  feasts  of  the  prince  of  the  land, 


OLD    TIME    COMMUNISTS.  Ill 

enchanting  slaves  served  the  most  delicate  dainties  on 
golden  dishes.  There  were  mountains  of  opal  rising  above 
valleys  reveling  in  jewels,  with  crystal  streams,  whose 
bottom  consisted  of  pure  silver  sand. 

The  disappointment  of  the  Spaniards  was  great.  A 
number  of  large  Indian  villages  were  found,  whose  inhabi- 
tants subsisted  updfc  the  fruits  of  a  primitive  agriculture. 
The  frugality  and  thrift  of  the  Pueblos  excited  the  interest 
of  the  voluptuous  Spaniards.  The  peculiar  architecture  of 
the  villages  and  houses  also  drew  their  admiration.  Taken 
as  a  whole,  the  circles  of  houses  resembled  the  cells  of  a 
wasp's  nest,  of  which  the  upper  stories  were  reached  on  a 
crude  ladder.  Entrance  could  be  gained  only  through  a 
small  opening  in  the  roof,  not  even  the  sides  facing  the 
streets  containing  doors.  A  few  heavily  grated  windows 
served  as  port-holes  for  their  arrows.  These  peculiar  con- 
structions of  baked  clay  are  still  fashionable  in  such  old 
towns  as  Suni,  Taos  and  others. 

Situated  as  the  Moqui  villages  and  Acoma  were,  on 
the  top  of  an  inaccessible  rock,  the  Spaniards  despaired  of 
conquering  them.  The  supposed  Cibola  not  panning  out 
according  to  expectation,  they  did  not  seek  reinforcement, 
and  left  the  Pueblos  in  peace.  Only  near  the  end  of  the 
Sixteenth  Century  the  Pueblos  had  to  submit  to  Spanish 
rule,  under  which  they  remained  until  1848,  when  the 
territory  embracing  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  was  ceded 
to  the  United  States. 

In  some  respects  the  Spanish  supremacy  proved  bene- 
ficial to  the  Indians.  They  virtually  maintained  their 
independence.  Many  innovations  in  their  life  and  cus- 
toms can  be  traced  from  this  period.  The  only  domestic 
creatures  in  their  villages  were  large  turkeys,  whose 


178  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

feathers  served  as  head  ornaments  for  the  warriors ;  but 
horses,  cows,  sheep,  goats,  dogs  and  last,  but  not  least, 
the  indispensable  burros  were  added  to  their  domestic 
stock. 

The  most  important  change  in  their  communistic  mode 
of  living  dates  from  the  annexation  of  New  Mexico  to  the 
United  States,  and  the  introduction  of  railroads.  Their 
unfriendly  neighbors,  the  Apaches,  Comanches,  Kiowas 
and  Navajos,  were  restricted  to  their  own  reservations. 

Feeling  safe  under  the  powerful  protection  of  the 
Government,  these  peaceable  people  have  begun  to  relin- 
quish their  old  mode  of  communistic  existence  in  their 
strange  dwellings.  Until  recently,  there  was  a  promiscuous 
living  together  of  large  families  in  the  numerous  apartments 
of  a  single  house,  to  which  access  could  be  only  obtained 
through  a  small  aperture  in  the  roof.  More  modern 
cottages  are  being  built  for  single  families  now ;  farming 
is  also  carried  on  on  a  large  scale,  and  in  some  parts  grape 
and  fruit  culture  is  attempted  with  good  results. 

All  the  villages  are  characterized  by  a  certain  industrial 
monopoly.  In  one  of  them,  for  instance,  the  pottery  for 
all  the  Pueblos  is  manufactured;  in  others,  like  the  Moqui 
villages,  all  the  people  are  employed  in  the  making  of 
finely  woven  goats'  hair  blankets,  in  which  occupation  many 
are  great  experts.  Although  a  large  number  are  engaged  in 
the  sale  of  blankets  and  Indian  goods  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  the  Union,  in  the  gold  diggings  of  California,  in 
Mormon  settlements,  in  the  small  railroad  stations  of 
Arizona,  the  average  Pueblo  Indian  prefers  a  settled  life. 
He  is  domestic  in  his  habits,  and  loves  his  family,  his 
cattle,  his  farm  and  his  neighbors  as  dearly  as  does  his 
pale-faced  brothers.  And  has  he  not  good  cause  to 


OLD    TIME    COMMUNISTS.  181 

rejoice  and  be  contented  with  his  lot?  Has  he  not  a  faith- 
ful and  charming  wife?  There  are  some  pretty  girls  of 
perfect  contour  among  the  Pueblo  Indians,  especially  in 
the  Tigua  villages.  Are  not  his  gleeful  children,  who  are 
enjoying  a  romp  on  the  huge  sand  hills,  obedient  and  rev- 
erential in  his  presence  ?  The  impudent  spirit  of  young 
America  has  not  yet  exerted  its  baneful  influence  here. 

How  scrupulously  clean  are  the  households !  The  good 
housewives  of  the  Netherlands  do  not  excel  the  Pueblo 
squaws  in  cleanliness.  Floors  are  always  carefully  swept; 
all  along  the  walls  of  the  spacious  rooms  seats  and  couches 
are  covered  with  finely  variegated  rugs;  the  walls  are 
tastefully  decorated  with  pictures  and  mirrors,  and  the 
large  cupboards  are  filled  with  luxurious  fruits,  meats, 
pastry  and  jellies.  Thousands  of  white  bread-winners  in 
the  large  cities  would  envy  these  Indians  if  they  could 
behold  their  comparative  affluence  and  their  obviously 
contented  state.  Nor  do  they  obtain  all  this  without 
fatiguing  toil.  The  land  is  barren  and  dry,  which  compels 
them  to  induce  irrigation  through  long  canals  from  far 
away  streams,  and  the  men  are  never  afraid  of  work. 

The  Pueblo  pottery  of  to-day  differs  but  little  from 
that  of  the  Sixteenth  Century.  In  the  pottery  villages  the 
work  is  done  mostly  by  men,  who  sit  on  the  broad,  shaded 
platform  and  shape  their  immense  vessels  in  imitation  of 
human  beings  and  every  imaginable 'animal  shape.  The 
grotesquely  shaped  mouth  is  generally  intended  for  the 
openiag,  through  which  the  water,  soup  or  milk  is  poured. 

The  squaws  are  assuming  more  and  more  the  occupa- 
tions of  the  modern  housewife,  though  they  still  grind 
their  corn  in  the  stone  troughs  used  hundreds  of  years 
ago,  and  they  still  bake  their  bread  in  thin  layers  on  hot, 
11 


182  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

glowing  stones.  Dressmakers  and  tailors  still  go  a-beg- 
ging among  the  Pueblo  people,  and  no  attention  whatever 
is  paid  to  Parisian  dictators  of  fashion.  The  good  Pueblo 
squaw  cuts,  fits,  and  sews  all  the  clothing  for  the  family, 
which  used  to  be  composed  mostly  of  leather.  Her 
husband's  wardrobe  consists  now  of  a  few  multi-colored 
shirts,  a  pair  or  two  of  leather  pantaloons,  with  silver 
buttons,  mocassins  and  a  shoulder  blanket. 

The  head  gear,  if  any  be  worn,  as  is  often  the  case,  is 
simply  a  large  colored  handkerchief.  Girls  are  usually 
dressed  like  the  daughters  of  Southern  farmers,  but  they 
refuse  to  discard  the  bloomers,  over  which  the  petticoats 
are  worn  a  little  below  the  knees.  These  leather  panta- 
lettes are  a  necessity  in  a  country  where  poisonous  snakes 
and  insects  abound  in  gardens  and  fields.  To  see  a 
Pueblo  girl  at  her  best,  she  must  be  surprised  in  animated 
gossip  in  a  bevy  of  girl  friends,  or  when  engaged  in 
mirthful  laughter  while  at  work.  Then  the  expressive, 
deep  black  eyes  sparkle  and  the  white  teeth  offer  a  glitter- 
ing contrast  to  her  fine  black  tresses,  eyes  and  eyebrows. 
The  Pueblo  Indians  are  to  be  congratulated  on  one  fact 
especially,  that  they  permitted  their  moral  improvement 
through  the  agency  of  the  black-frocked  missionaries  and 
school  teachers  who  came  from  the  East,  but  also  that  they 
are  one  of  the  few  tribes  who  resisted  the  conscienceless 
rascals  who  would  wreck  their  homes  through  "fire  water'5 
and  gambling  devices. 

A  large  number  of  ancient  many-storied,  many  cham- 
bered communal  houses  are  scattered  over  New  Mexico, 
three  of  the  most  important  of  which  are  Isletta,  Laguna 
and  Acoma.  Isletta  and  Laguna  are  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  the  railroad,  ten  miles  and  sixty-six  miles, 


OLD    TIME    COMMUNISTS.  183 

respectively,  beyond  Albuquerque,  and  Acoma  is  reached 
from  either  Laguna  or  Bubero  by  a  drive  of  a  dozen  miles. 
The  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  pueblos,  an  intelligent, 
complex,  industrious  and  independent  race,  are  anomalous 
among  North  American  natives.  They  are  housed  to-day 

in  the  self -same  structures  in  which  their  forefathers  were 

m 

discovered,  and  in  three  and  a  half  centuries  of  contact 
with  Europeans  their  manner  of  life  has  not  materially 
changed. 

The  Indian  tribes  that  roamed  over  mountain  and  plain 
have  become  wards  of  the  Government,  debased  and 
denuded  of  whatever  dignity  they  once  possessed,  ascribe 
what  cause  you  will  for  their  present  condition.  But  the 
Pueblo  Indian  has  absolutely  maintained  the  integrity  of 
his  individuality,  and  is  self-respecting  and  self-sufficient. 
He  accepted  the  form  of  religion  professed  by  his  Spanish 
conquerors,  but  without  abandoning  his  own,  and  that  is 
practically  the  only  concession  his  persistent  conservatism 
has  ever  made  to  external  influence. 

Laborious  efforts  have  been  made  to  penetrate  the 
reserve  with  which  the  involved  inner  life  of  this  strange 
child  of  the  desert  is  guarded,  but  it  lies  like  a  dark,  vast 
continent  behind  a  dimly  visible  shore,  and  he  dwells 
within  the  shadowy  rim  of  a  night  that  yields  no  ray  to 
tell  of  his  origin.  He  is  a  true  pagan,  swathed  in  seem- 
ingly dense  clouds  of  superstition,  rich  in  fanciful  legend, 
and  profoundly  ceremonious  in  religion.  His  gods  are 
innumerable.  Not  even  the  ancient  Greeks  possessed  a 
more  populous  Olympus.  Ou  that  austere  yet  familiar 
height,  gods  of  peace  and  of  war,  of  the  chase,  of  bounti- 
ful harvest  and  of  famine,  of  sun  and  rain  and  snow,  elbow 
a  thousand  others  for  standing  room.  The  trail  of  the 


184  M Y  NATIVE  LAND. 

serpent  has  crossed  his  history,  too,  and  he  frets  his 
pottery  with  an  imitation  of  its  scales,  and  gives  the  rattle- 
snake a  prominent  place  among  his  deities.  Unmistakably 
a  pagan,  yet  the  purity  and  well  being  of  his  communities 
will  bear  favorable  comparison  with  those  of  the  enlight- 
ened world. 

He  is  brave,  honest  and  enterprising  within  the  fixed 
limits  of  his  little  sphere;  his  wife  is  virtuous,  his  children 
are  docile.  And  were  the  whole  earth  swept  bare  of  every 
living  thing,  save  for  a  few  leagues  surrounding  his  tribal 
home,  his  life  would  show  no  manner  of  disturbance. 
Probably  he  might  never  hear  of  so  unimportant  an  event. 
He  would  still  alternately  labor  and  relax  in  festive  games, 
still  reverence  his  gods  and  rear  his  children  to  a  life  of 
industry  and  content,  so  anomalous  is  he,  so  firmly  estab- 
lished in  an  absolute  independence. 

Pueblo  architecture  possesses  none  of  the  elaborate 
ornamentation  found  in  the  Aztec  ruins  in  Mexico.  The 
exterior  of  the  house  is  absolutely  plain.  It  is  sometimes 
seven  stories  in  height  and  contains  over  a  thousand  rooms. 
In  some  instances  it  is  built  of  adobe — blocks  of  mud 
mixed  with  straw  and  dried  in  the  sun,  and  in  others,  of 
stone  covered  with  mud  cement.  The  entrance  is  by 
means  of  a  ladder,  and  when  that  is  pulled  up  the  latch- 
string  is  considered  withdrawn. 

The  pueblo  of  pueblos  is  Acoma,  a  city  without  a  peer. 
It  is  built  upon  the  summit  of  a  table-rock,  with  overhang- 
ing, eroded  sides,  350  feet  above  the  plain,  which  is  7,000 
feet  above  the  sea.  Anciently,  according  to  the  traditions 
of  the  Queres,  it  stood  upon  the  crest  of  the  superb 
Haunted  Mesa,  three  miles  away,  and  some  300  feet 
higher,  but  its  only  approach  was  one  day  destroyed  by 


OLD    TIME    COMMUNISTS.  185 

the  falling  of  a  cliff,  and  three  unhappy  women,  who 
chanced  to  be  the  only  occupants — the  remainder  of  the 
population  being  at  work  in  the  fields  below — died  of 
starvation,  in  view  of  the  homeless  hundreds  of  their 
people  who  for  many  days  surrounded  the  unscalable  mesa 
with  upturned,  agorflzed  faces. 

The  present  Acoma  is  the  one  discovered  by  the  Span- 
iards ;  the  original  pueblo  on  the  Mesa  Encantada  being 
even  then  an  ancient  tradition.  It  is  1,000  feet  in  length 
and  40  feet  high,  and  there  is,  besides,  a  church 'of  enor- 
mous proportions.  Until  lately,  it  was  reached  only  by  a 
precipitous  stairway  in  the  rock,  up  which  the  inhabitants 
carried  upon  their  backs  every  particle  of  the  materials  of 
which  the  village  is  constructed.  The  graveyard  consumed 
forty  years  in  building,  by  reason  of  the  necessity  of 
bringing  earth  from  the  plain  below;  and  the  church  must 
have  cost  the  labor  of  many  generations,  for  its  walls  are 
60  feet  high  and  10  feet  thick,  and  it  has  timbers  40  feet 
long  and  14  inches  square. 

The  Acomas  welcomed  the  soldiers  of  Coronado  with 
deference,  ascribing  to  them  celestial  origin.  Subse- 
quently, upon  learning  the  distinctly  human  character  of 
the  Spaniards,  they  professed  allegiance,  but  afterwards 
wantonly  slew  a  dozen  of  Zaldibar's  men.  By  way  of 
reprisal,  Zaldibar  headed  three-score  soldiers  and  under- 
took to  carry  the  sky-citadel  by  assault.  The  incident  has 
no  parallel  in  American  history,  short  of  the  memorable 
and  similar  exploit  of  Cortez  on  the  great  Aztec  pyramid. 

After  a  three  days'  hand  to  hand  struggle,  the  Spaniards 
stood  victors  upon  that  seemingly  impregnable  fortress, 
and  received  the  submission  of  the  Queres,  who  for  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  thereafter  remained  tractable.  In 


186  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

that  interval,  the  priests  came  to  Acoma  and  held  footing 
for  fifty  years,  until  the  bloody  uprisal  of  1680  occurred, 
in  which  priest,  soldier  and  settler  were  massacred  or 
driven  from  the  land,  and  every  vestige  of  their  occupation 
was  extirpated.  After  the  resubjection  of  the  natives  by 
De  Vargas,  the  present  church  was  constructed,  and  the 
Pueblos  have  not  since  rebelled  against  the  contiguity  of 
the  white  man. 

All  the  numerous  Mexican  communities  in  the  Terri- 
tory contain  representatives  of  the  Penitentes  order,  which 
is  peculiar  by  reason  of  the  self-flagellations  inflicted  by  its 
members  in  excess  of  pietistic  zeal.  Unlike  their  ilk  of 
India,  they  do  not  practice  self-torture  for  long  periods, 
but  only  upon  a  certain  day  in  each  year.  Then,  stripped 
to  the  waist,  these  poor  zealots  go  chanting  a  dolorous 
strain,  and  beating  themselves  unsparingly  upon  the  back 
with  the  sharp-spined  cactus,  or  soap-weed,  until  they  are 
a  revolting  sight  to  look  upon.  Often  they  sink  from  the 
exhaustion  of  long-sustained  suffering  and  loss  of  blood. 
One  of  the  ceremonies  among  these  peculiar  people  is  the 
bearing  of  a  huge  cross  of  heavy  timber  for  long  distances. 
Martyrs  to  conscience  and  religious  devotees  frequently 
carry  crosses  of  immense  weight  for  miles,  and  are 
watched  eagerly  by  crowds  of  excited  spectators.  The 
man  who  carries  this  fanatacism  to  the  greatest  length  is 
the  hero  of  the  day,  and  receives  the  appointment  of  Chief 
of  the  Ceremonies  for  the  following  year. 

Ceremonies  such  as  these  point  to  the  extreme  antiquity 
of  the  people,  and  seem  to  indicate  that  they  must  have 
been  descended  from  tribes  which  were  prominent  in 
biblical  narrative.  According  to  many  able  historians, 
people  have  resided  in  this  part  of  the  world  for  at  least 


OLD    TIME    COMMUNISTS.  187 

twelve  hundred  years.  In  other  words,  when  Columbus 
and  Americus  Vespucius  discovered  and  explored  the  new 
world  or  portions  of  it,  these  peculiar  people  had  been 
living  on  the  then  mysterious  continent  for  the  greater 
part  of  a  thousand  years. 

According  to  some  authorities  these  people  are  aborig- 
inal. According  to  others,  they  migrated  from  some  dis- 
tant clime.  The  antiquity  of  China  is  well  known,  and 
there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  Moquis  and  Zunis 
have  sprung  from  Chinese  voyagers,  or  perhaps  pirates, 
who,  hundreds  of  years  ago,  were  wrecked  on  the  western 
shores  of  America.  Another  theory  is,  that  on  the  occas- 
ion of  one  of  the  numerous  expulsions  or  emigrations  from 
China,  a  band  of  Mongolians  turned  northward  and  came 
into  America  by  crossing  the  Behring  Strait. 

Other  antiquarians  think  that  Morocco,  rather  than 
China,  was  the  original  home  of  these  races.  The  traveler 
is  much  struck  with  the  resemblance  between  the  habits  and 
customs  of  the  Moors  and  of  some  of  the  old  established 
tribes  of  New  Mexico.  In  dress  and  architecture  the 
Moorish  idea  certainly  prevails  very  prominently.  The 
white  toga  and  the  picturesque  red  turban  are  prominent 
in  these  resemblances.  The  jugs  used  for  carrying  water 
are  distinctly  Moorish  in  type,  and  the  women  carry  them 
on  their  heads  in  that  peculiar  manner  which  is  so  charac- 
teristic of  Moorish  habits  and  customs. 

One  of  the  very  earliest  records  of  these  people  has 
been  left  us  by  Spanish  explorers.  A  writer  who  accom- 
panied one  of  the  earliest  expeditions  from  Spain,  says  : 
"We  found  a  great  town  called  Acoma,  containing  about 
5,000  people,  and  situated  upon  a  rock  about  fifty  paces 
high,  with  no  other  entrance  but  by  a  pair  of  stairs  hewn 


188  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

in  the  rock,  whereat  our  people  marveled  not  a  little.  The 
chief  men  of  this  town  came  peaceably  to  visit  us,  bringing 
many  mantles  and  chamois  skins,  excellently  dressed,  and 
great  plenty  of  victuals.  Their  corn-fields  were  two  leagues 
distant,  and  they  fetched  water  out  of  a  small  river  to 
water  the  same,  on  the  brinks  whereof  there  were  great 
banks  of  roses  like  those  of  Castile.  There  were  many 
mountains  full  of  metals.  Our  men  remained  in  the  place 
three  days,  upon  one  of  which  the  inhabitants  made  before 
them  a  very  solemn  dance,  coming  forth  in  the  same 
gallant  apparel,  using  very  witty  sports,  wherewith  our 
men  were  exceedingly  delighted." 

Among  the  ruins  found  here,  the  early  use  of  stone 
for  architectural  purposes  is  clearly  manifested,  and  there 
are  innumerable  relics  of  ingenuity  in  periods  upon  which 
we  are  apt  to  look  with  great  contempt.  Arrow-heads 
made  of  flint,  quartz,  agate  and  jaspar,  can  easily  be  found 
by  the  relic  hunter.  Hatchets  made  of  stone,  and  sharp- 
ened in  a  most  unique  manner,  are  also  common,  and  the 
ancestors  of  the  1'ueblos  undoubtedly  used  knives  made 
of  stone  hundreds  of  years  ago. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  ancient  houses  is 
in  the  Chaco  Canon.  This  edifice  was  probably  at  one 
time  300  feet  long,  about  half  as  wide  and  three  stories 
high.  From  the  nature  of  the  rooms,  it  is  evident  that 
the  walls  were  built  in  terrace-form  out  of  sandstone. 
There  were  about  150  rooms,  and  judging  from  the  present 
habits  of  the  people,  at  least  500  human  beings  lived  in 
this  mammoth  boarding-bouse.  Another  very  interesting 
structure  of  a  similar  character  is  found  on  the  Upper 
Grande  Kiver,  about  two  hours'  drive  from  Santa  Fe.  It 
was  about  300  feet  square  originally,  and  most  of  the 


OLD    TIME    COMMUNISTS.  189 

foundations  are  still  in  fairly  good  condition,  though  much 
of  the  exposed  portion  of  the  stone  has  yielded  by  degrees 
to  the  friction  caused  by  continual  sandstorms.  It  is 
believed  that  more  than  1,000  people  lived  in  this  one 
house. 

Of  recent  years  a  good  deal  has  been  written  concern- 
ing the  possibilities  of-  the  future  in  regard  to  saving 
expense  by  large  numbers  of  families  occupying  one 
house.  Most  of  these  ideas  have  been  ridiculed,  because 
experience  has  proved  that  families  seldom  reside  comfort- 
ably in  crowded  quarters.  The  tribes  of  which  we  are 
writing,  while  they  destroy  the  originality  of  the  commun- 
istic ideas  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  also  disprove  the 
arguments  which  are  principally  brought  against  them. 
In  these  singular  houses  or  colonies,  several  families  live 
together  in  perfect  harmony.  There  are  no  instances  on 
record  of  disputes  such  as  are  met  with  in  boarding-houses 
patronized  by  white  people,  and  in  this  one  respect,  at  any 
rate,  quite  a  lesson  is  taught  us  by  the  Pueblo  tribes. 
The  people  are  quiet  and  peaceable  in  disposition,  and  one 
secret  of  their  peaceful  dwelling  together  is  found  in  the 
absence  of  jealousy,  a  characteristic  or  vice  which  does  not 
seem  to  have  penetrated  into  the  houses  on  the  cliffs,  or 
to  have  sullied  the  dispositions  of  these  people  with  such  a 
remarkable  and  creditable  history.  It  requires  a  good 
deal  of  dexterity  and  agility  to  enter  or  leave  a  com- 
munal house  of  this  character,  and  a  door,  from  what  we 
are  apt  to  term  a  civilized  point  of  view,  is  unknown. 

The  visitor  is  told  a  number  of  legends  and  stories 
about  these  houses  and  the  people  who  live  in  them.  The 
coming  of  Montezuma  is  the  great  idea  which  permeates 
all  the  legends  and  stories.  According  to  many  of  the 


190  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

people,  Montezuma  left  Mexico,  during  the  remote  ages, 
in  a  canoe  built  of  serpent-skins.  His  object  was  to  civil- 
ize the  East  and  to  do  away  with  human  sacrifice.  He 
communicated  with  the  people  by  means  of  cords  in  which 
knots  were  tied  in  the  most  ingenious  manner.  The  knots 
conveyed  the  meaning  of  the  Prophet,  and  his  peculiar 
messages  were  carried  from  pueblo  to  pueblo  by  swift 
messengers,  who  took  great  delight  in  executing  their 
tasks. 

A  number  of  exceedingly  romantic  legends  are  centered 
around  the  Pueblo  de  Taos,  which  is  about  twenty  miles 
from  Embudo.  Taos  is  considered  the  most  interesting 
and  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  a  Pueblo  Indian  fortress. 
It  consists  of  two  communistic  houses,  each  five  stories 
high,  and  a  B-oman  Catholic  church  (now  in  a  ruined 
condition)  which  stands  near,  although  apart  from  the 
dwellings.  Around  the  fortress  are  seven  circular  mounds, 
which  at  first  suggest  the  idea  of  being  the  work  of 
mound-builders.  On  further  examination  they  prove  to 
be  the  sweating  chambers  or  Turkish  baths  of  this  curious 

o 

people.  Of  these  chambers,  the  largest  appears  also  to 
serve  the  purpose  of  a  council  chamber  and  mystic  hall, 
where  rites  peculiar  to  the  tribe  (about  which  they  are 
very  reticent)  are  performed. 

The  Pueblo  Indians  delight  to  adorn  themselves  in  gay 
colors,  and  form  very  interesting  and  picturesque  subjects 
for  the  artist,  especially  when  associated  with  their  quaint 
surroundings.  They  are  skilled  in  the  manufacture  of 
pottery,  basket-making  and  bead  work.  The  grand  annual 
festival  of  these  Indians  occurs  on  the  30th  of  Septem- 
ber, and  the  ceremonies  are  of  a  peculiarly  interesting 
character. 


OLD    TIME    COMMUNISTS.  191 

Jesuitism  has  grafted  its  faith  upon  the  superstitions 
of  the  Montezumas,  and  a  curious  fruitage  is  the  result. 
The  mystic  rites  of  the  Pueblo  Indians,  performed  at 
Pueblo  de  Taos  in  honor  of  San  Geronimo  (St.  Jerome), 
upon  each  succeeding  30th  day  of  September,  attract  large 
concourses  of  people,  and  are  of  great  interest  to  either 
the  ethnologist,  ecclesiastic  or  tourist.  A  brief  descrip- 
tion can  give  but  a  faint  idea  of  these  ceremonies,  but  may 
serve  to  arouse  an  interest  in  the  matter.  In  the  early 
morning  of  St.  Jerome's  day,  a  black-robed  Indian  makes 
a  recitation  from  the  top  of  the  pueblo  to  the  assembled 
multitude  below.  In  the  plaza  stands  a  pine  tree  pole, 
fifty  feet  in  height,  and  from  a  cross-piece  at  top  dangles 
a  live  sheep,  with  legs  tied  together  and  back  down. 
Besides  the  sheep,  a  garland  of  such  fruits  and  vegetables 
as  the  valley  produces,  together  with  a  basket  of  bread 
and  grain,  hang  from  the  pole.  The  bell  in  the  little 
adobe  chapel  sounds  and  a  few  of  the  Indians  go  in  to 
mass. 

A  curious  service  follows.  A  rubicund  Mexican  priest 
is  the  celebrant,  while  two  old  Mexicans  in  modern  dress, 
and  a  Pueblo  Indian  in  a  red  blanket,  are  acolytes.  When 
the  host  is  elevated,  an  Indian  at  the  door  beats  a  villainous 
drum  and  four  musket  shots  are  discharged.  After  the 
services  are  concluded,  a  procession  is  formed  and  marches 
to  the  race  track,  which  is  three  hundred  yards  in  length. 
The  runners  have  prepared  themselves  in  the  estufas,  or 
underground  council  chambers,  and  soon  appear.  There 
are  fifty  of  them,  and  all  are  naked  except  a  breech-clout, 
and  are  painted  no  two  alike.  Fifty  other  runners  to  con- 
test with  these,  arrive  from  the  other  pueblo.  They  form 
in  line  on  either  side  of  the  course,  and  a  slow,  graceful 


192  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

dance  ensues.  All  at  once  three  hundred  mad  young  Mex- 
icans rush  through  the  throng  on  their  wild  ponies,  the 
leader  swinging  by  the  neck  the  gallo  or  cock.  Then  the 
races  begin,  two  runners  from  each  side  darting  down  the 
track  cheered  by  their  companions.  No  sooner  do  they 
reach  the  goal  than  two  others  start  off,  and  thus  for  two 
hours,  until  the  sum  of  victories  gained  by  individuals 
entitles  one  party  or  the  other  to  claim  success.  The  race 
decided,  the  runners  range  themselves  in  two  facing  lines, 
and,  preceded  by  the  drum,  begin  a  slow  zig-zag  march. 

Excitement  now  runs  riot.  The  dancers  chant  weird 
songs,  break  the  ranks  and  vie  with  each  other  in  their 
antics  and  peculiarities.  A  rush  is  made  upon  the  crowd 
of  spectators  through  whom  the  participants  in  the  orgies 
force  their  way,  regardless  of  consequences.  The  women, 
who  hitherto  have  taken  but  little  part  in  the  excitement, 
now  come  forward  and  throw  cakes  and  rolls  of  bread 
from  the  pueblo  terraces.  Everybody  rushes  after  these 
prizes  in  a  headlong  manner,  and  the  confusion  becomes 
still  greater. 

An  adjournment  is  then  taken  for  dinner,  and  in  the 
afternoon,  six  gorgeously  painted  and  hideously  decorated 
clowns  come  forward  and  go  through  a  series  of  antics 
calculated  to  disgust  rather  than  amuse  the  spectator. 
The  unfortunate  sheep,  which  is  still  hanging  to  the  pole,  is 
finally  thrown  to  the  ground  after  several  attempts  have 
been  made  to  climb  the  pole.  The  fruits  and  products  are 
seized  by  the  clowns,  who  rush  off  with  them,  and  every  one 
connected  with  the  tribe  seem  to  be  highly  satisfied  with 
the  outcome  of  the  day's  proceedings,  and  the  culmination 
of  the  spectacle. 


"CHAPTER   XI. 

HOW    OUSTER    LIVED    AND    DIED. 

"Remember  Custer"  —  An  Eye  Witness  of  the  Massacre  —  Custer, 
Cody  and  Alexis  —  A  Ride  over  the  Scenes  of  the  Unequal 
Conflict—  Major  Reno's  Marked  Failure—  How  "Sitting  Bull"  Ran 
Away  and  Lived  to  Fight  Another  Day  —  Why  a  Medicine  Man 
did  not  Summon  Rain. 


Custer"  was  the  watchword  and 
battle-cry  of  the  small  army  of  American  sol- 
diers who  early  in  the  present  decade  advanced  against 
hostile  Indians  in  the  Northwest,  who  after  indulging  for 
weeks  in  a  series  of  fantastic  dances  and  superstitious 
rites,  were  finally  called  to  time  by  the  Government  and 
punished  for  their  disregard  of  treaty  rights  and  reason- 
able orders.  Every  American  child  should  know  who 
Custer  was  and  why  the  troopers  called  upon  each  other  to 
remember  him  on  the  occasion  referred  to.  It  is  less  than 
twenty  years  since  he  died.  His  name  should  be  remem- 
bered by  civilians  as  well  as  soldiers  for  almost  as  many 
centuries  to  come. 

There  are  some  men  who  seem  to  defy  and  even  court 
death.  Custer  was  one  of  these.  He  was  so  recklessly 
brave  that  he  often  caused  anxiety  to  his  superior  officers. 
Time  and  again  he  led  a  handful  of  men  apparently  into 
the  jaws  of  death  and  brought  them  out  safely,  after  hav- 
ing practically  annihilated  the  foe.  As  the  pitcher  which 
is  carried  safely  to  the  well  ninety-nine  times  sometimes 
gets  broken  at  the  hundredth  attempt,  so  was  it  with  Gen- 

(193) 


194  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

eral  Ouster.  In  June,  1876,  his  detachment  was  outnum- 
bered twenty  to  one  at  a  little  ford  near  Crazy  Horse 
Creek,  in  Dakota,  and  his  entire  command  was  wiped  outc 
An  adopted  son  of  "Sitting  Bull,"  the  famous  Indian,  states 
that  he  saw  Custer  die,  adding  that  he  twice  witnessed  the 
hero  lying  on  his  back  fighting  his  foes.  The  third  time 
he  saw  him  a  blanket  was  drawn  over  the  hero,  who  was 
apparently  dead. 

On  another  page  is  given  an  admirable  illustration  of 
the  camp  and  ford,  as  well  as  of  the  monument  erected  in 
Custer' s  memory,  with  typical  Indian  camp  scene.  This 
picture  is  from  photographs  taken  specially  for  Mr. 
Charles  S.  Fee,  General  Passenger  Agent  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad,  whose  tracks  run  close  by  this  scene  of 
such  sad  history. 

A  volume  could  be  devoted  to  the  life  of  Custer,  the 
adventures  he  encountered,  and  the  risks  he  ran  in  the  course 
of  his  eventful  and  useful  career.  His  works  and  his  mem- 
oirs bristle  with  information  concerning  the  actual  truths  of 
border  life  and  Indian  warfare,  bereft  of  romance  and  ex- 
aggeration. Like  almost  all  Indian  fighters,  Custer  enter- 
tained a  supreme  contempt  for  the  red  man  generally, 
although  his  naturally  kind  disposition  led  him  to  give 
credit  to  individual  red  men  for  bravery,  gratitude,  and 
other  characteristics  generally  believed  to  be  inconsistent 
with  their  character  and  nationality. 

Besides  being  a  gallant  fighter,  Custer  was  also  a  great 
lover  of  recreation  and  fun,  while  a  genuine  hunting  ex- 
pedition drew  him  out  from  his  almost  habitual  quiet  and 
made  him  the  natural  leader  of  the  party.  Among  his 
friends  was  William  Cody,  better  known  to  the  amusement 
loving  world  as  Buffalo  Bill,  on  account  of  his  alleged  exces- 


HOW  OUSTER  LIVED  AND  DIED.       195 

sive  prowess  in  the  shooting  and  destruction  of  buffalo. 
If  Mr.  Cody  were  consulted,  he  would  probably  prefer  to  be 
called  Indian  Bill,  as  hie  hatred  of  the  average  red  man 
was  very  largely  in  excess  of  his  anxiety  to  kill  the  hump- 
backed oxen,  which  were,  at  one  time,  almost  in  sole  pos- 
session of  the  Western  prairies.  On  one  occasion,  he  and 
Ouster  had  a  very  delightful  time  together,  and  Cody  has 
given  a  pleasing  description  of  what  took  place. 

This  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  to  this  country  of 
the  Grand  Duke  Alexis.  Some  twenty-three  years  ago  this 
European  celebrity  enjoyed  a  tour  through  the  United 
States,  and  visited  most  of  the  grandest  features  of  our 
native  land.  Before  coming  to  the  country,  he  had  heard 
of  its  great  hunting  facilities,  and  also  of  the  sport  to  be 
obtained  from  shooting  buffalo  on  the  prairie.  He  men- 
tioned this  fact  to  the  officers  of  the  Government,  who 
were  detailed  to  complete  arrangements  for  his  benefit, 
and,  acccordingly,  it  was  arranged  that  the  Grand  Duke 
should  be  conducted  into  buffalo  land,  and  initiated  into 
the  mysteries  of  buffalo  hunting,  by  the  officer  who  has 
since  been  annihilated  by  the  Sioux,  and  the  irrepressible 
hunter  who  has  since  developed  into  a  prince  among  show- 
men. 

These  two  somewhat  rough,  but  very  kind,  chaperones, 
took  with  them  on  this  trip  a  party  of  Indians,  including 
" Spotted  Tail,"  with  whose  daughter  Custer  carried  on,  we 
are  told,  a  mild  flirtation  on  the  march.  A  great  deal  of 
amusement  was  derived  from  the  trip,  as  well  as  very  much 
important  information. 

It  was  but  four  years  later  that  Custer  was  engaged  on 
a  more  serious  and  less  entertaining  mission.  The  scene 
of  the  tragedy  was  visited  some  three  years  ago  by  Mr. 


196  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

L.  D.  Wheeler,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  following 
very  graphic  and  interesting  description  of  the  visit  and  of 
the  thoughts  it  called  forth  : 

"A  rather  lengthy  ride  found  us  at  Reno's  crossing  of 
the  river,  the  ford  where  he  crossed  to  make  his  attack. 
Fording  the  stream,  we  dismounted  among  the  young 
timber  and  bushes  lining  the  stream,  and  ate  lunch. 
Before  lunch  was  finished,  two  Indian  girls  came  down  the 
river.  The  younger,  tall,  slender  and  graceful,  dressed  in 
bright,  clean  scarlet,  was  a  picture.  With  her  jet  black 
hair  hanging  in  shining  plaits,  her  piercing  eyes  and  hand- 
some face,  she  was  the  most  comely,  sylph-like  Indian 
maiden  I  have  ever  seen. 

"Mounting  our  horses,  lunch  over,  we  cantered  back  on 
the  trail  that  Custer  and  Reno  followed,  for  a  ride  of 
several  miles  to  Lookout  Hill,  or  Point,  which  we  ascend- 
ed. This  was  the  point  where  Custer  and  his  officers 
obtained  their  first  view  of  the  valley  of  the  Greasy  Grass, 
as  the  Sioux  call  the  Little  Horn. 

" After  a  survey  of  the  region,  spurring  our  horses  for- 
ward, we  in  time  found  ourselves  climbing  the  gentle 
acclivities  which  led  up  to  Reno's  old  rifle-pits,  now  almost 
obliterated.  The  most  noticeable  feature  of  the  spot  is 
the  number  of  blanched  bones  of  horses  which  lie  scattered 
about.  A  short  distance  from  the  pits — which  are  rather 
'rounded,  and  follow  the  outline  of  the  hills  in  shape — and 
in  a  slight  hollow  below  them,  are  more  bones  of  horses. 
This  is  where  the  wounded  were  taken,  and  the  hospital 
established,  and  the  horses  kept.  From  the  wavy  summit 
line  of  the  bluffs,  the  ground  slopes  in  an  irregular  broken 
way  back  to  the  northeast  and  east,  into  a  coulee  that 
forms  the  passage  to  the  ford  which  Custer  aimed  for  and 


Custer  Battle  Field  and  Monument. 


HOW  OUSTER  LIVED  AND  DIED,       199 

never  reached.  The  ground  about  the  battle-field  is  now 
a  national  cemetery.  It  is  enclosed  by  a  wire  fence, 
and  there  are  several  hundred  acres  of  it.  It  might  be 
cared  for  in  a  manner  somewhat  better  than  it  is.  During 
one  of  my  visits  there,  a  Crow  Indian  rode  up  to  the  gate 
and  deliberately  turned  his  herd  of  horses  into  the  in- 
closure  to  graze. 

"As  I  rode  into  the  grounds,  after  fording  and  recross- 
ing  the  river  where  Custer  failed,  the  first  object  to  greet  my 
sight  was  a  small  inclosure,  with  large  mound  and  head- 
stone, which  marked  the  spot  where  Lieutenant  Crittenden 
fell.  At  one  corner,  and  outside  of  it,  stood  the  regulation 
marble  slab  which  marks  the  place  where  each  body  on  the 
field  was  found.  This  one  stated  that  there  Lieutenant 
Calhoun  was  killed.  At  numbers  of  places  down  the 
western  slope,  but  near  the  ravines,  the  surface  is  dotted 
with  the  little  gravestones.  In  some  places,  far  down  the 
descent,  and  far  from  where  Custer,  Van  Reilly,  Tom 
Custer  and  others  fell,  they  are  seen  singly;  in  other  spots 
three  or  four,  or  half  a  dozen.  At  one  point  there  are 
over  thirty,  well  massed  together.  Down  in  this  part  of 
the  field,  in  the  ravine  running  towards  the  monument,  is 
the  stone  marking  where  Dr.  Lord's  body  was  found,  and 
with  it  are  four  others. 

"In  the  shallow  coulee  east  of  the  ridge,  and  almost  at 
the  bottom  of  the  slope,  some  distance  northwest  of  where 
Calhoun  and  Crittenden  were  killed,  and  on  the  main 
ridge  slope  of  it,  is  a  large  group  of  stones.  Here  is  where 
Captain  Miles  Keogh  and  thirty-eight  men  gave  up  their 
lives.  On  this  side  of  the  ridge — the  eastern  side — be- 
tween where  Keogh  and  his  men  died  and  where  Custer 
fell,  there  are  numerous  stones.  On  the  opposite  side  of 

12 


200  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

the  Custer  ridge — that  which  faces  the  river— and  close  to 
its  crest,  there  are  very  few  stones,  and  those  are  much 
scattered,  and  not  in  groups.  At  the  northern  extremity 
of  the  ridge  is  a  slight  elevation  which  overtops  everything 
else,  and  slopes  away  in  all  directions,  save  where  the 
ridge  lies.  Just  below  this  knoll,  or  hillock — Custer 
Hill — facing  southwest,  is  where  Custer  and  the  larger 
part  of  his  men  fell." 

On  the  right  bank  of  the  Missouri  River — the  Big 
Muddy — in  North  Dakota,  almost  .within  rifle  shot  of  the 
town  of  Mandan,  on  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  there 
existed  in  the  '70s  a  military  post  named  after  the  nation's 
great  martyr  President,  Fort  Abraham  Lincoln.  On  the 
morning  of  the  17th  of  June,  1876,  there  went  forth  from 
here  among  others,  with  the  pomp  and  ceremony  for  which 
they  were  distinguished,  a  cavalry  regiment  famed  in  the 
army  for  dash,  bravery  and  endurance — the  noted  Seventh 
Cavalry. 

At  the  head  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry  was  a  man  who 
was  unquestionably  the  most  picturesque  character  for 
long  years,  and  perhaps  for  all  previous  and  present  time, 
in  the  army.  Entering  the  army  in  active  service  during 
the  Civil  War,  his  career  was  a  continual  round  of  suc- 
cesses and  advances,  and  at  its  close,  aside  from  the 
peerless  Sheridan,  no  cavalryman  had  a  greater  reputation 
for  magnificent  dash  than  he.  Transferred  to  the  plains — 
the  war  over — his  success  as  an  Indian  campaigner  natur- 
ally followed,  and  at  the  time  he  moved  out  upon  his 
latest  and  fated  expedition,  George  Custer  had  a  reputa- 
tion as  an  Indian  fighter  second  to  none. 

On  June  22d,  Custer  and  the  Seventh  Cavalry  left 
camp  on  the  Rosebud  in  compliance  with  their  instruc- 


HO  W  C  US  TEE  LIVED  AND  DIED.       201 

w 

tions.  On  the  23d  and  24th,  many  of  the  camping  places 
of  the  Indians,  in  their  migration  westward,  were  passed. 
By  evening  of  June  24th,  the  trail  and  signs  had  become 
so  hot  and  fresh  that  a  halt  was  ordered  to  await  tidings 
from  the  scouts.  Their  information  proved  that  the  In- 
dians were  across  the  divide,  over  in  the  valley  of  the 
Little  Horn.  Ouster,  confident  of  his  ability  to  whip  the 
Indians  single-handed,  prepared  for  fight  at  once.  He 
pushed  ahead  on  the  trail,  and  created  the  impression  that 
it  was  his  determination  to  get  to  the  spot,  and  have  one 
battle  royal  with  the  Indians,  in  which  he  and  the  Seventh 
should  be  the  sole  participants  on  our  side,  and  in  conse- 
quence the  sole  heroes.  The  idea  of  defeat  seems  never 
to  have  occurred  to  him. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  June  25th,  Ouster  resumed 
his  march.  Up  to  that  time  the  command  was  maneuv- 
ered as  a  whole.  Now,  however,  it  was  divided  into  four 
detachments.  One  under  Major  Reno,  consisting  of  three 
troops  of  cavalry  and  the  Indian  scouts,  forty  in  number, 
held  the  advance;  the  second  battalion,  composed  also  of 
three  troops,  moved  off  some  miles  to  the  left  of  Reno, 
scouting  the  country  to  the  southward;  a  third  detach- 
ment, comprising  the  pack  train  which  carried  the  reserve 
ammunition — some  24,000  rounds — was  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  McDougall,  and  had  one  troop  as  an  escort; 
the  fourth  battalion  was  that  under  Ouster  himself,  and 
was  the  largest,  having  five  troops,  and  it  marched  parallel 
to  Reno  and  within  easy  supporting  distance  to  the  north, 
the  pack  train  following  the  trail  in  rear  of  Reno  and 
Ouster. 

Reno  advanced  from  the  ford  across  the  valley  in  col- 
umn of  fours  for  some  distance,  then  formed  in  line  of 


202  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

battle,  and  afterwards  deployed  the  command  as  skir- 
mishers. The  bulk  of  the  Indians  and  their  camp  were  hid- 
den by  a  bend  of  the  river,  and  Reno,  instead  of  charging 
round  the  bend  and  into  the  Indian  camp,  halted  and  dis- 
mounted his  command  to  fight  on  foot.  At  this  point  two 
or  three  of  the  horses  could  not  be  controlled,  and  carried 
their  riders  into  the  Indian  camp ;  one  account  stating  that 
they  plunged  over  the  river  bank,  injuring  the  men,  who 
were  afterwards  killed  by  the  Indians.  Here  at  Ash  Point, 
or  Hollow,  the  command  soon  got  sheltered  in  the  timber, 
and  were  on  the  defensive;  the  Indians  now  pouring  in 
from  all  sides.  The  Indian  scouts  with  Reno  had  before 
now  been  dispersed,  and  were  making  back  tracks  fast  as 
their  ponies  could  carry  them.  Accounts  differ  as  to  how 
long  they  remained  in  this  timber,  but  it  was  probably  not 
to  exceed  half  an  hour.  The  "charge"  out — as  Reno 
termed  it — was  virtually  a  stampede,  and  many  did  not 
know  of  the  departure  until  too  late  to  start,  no  well-defined 
and  well-understood  order  having  been  given  to  that  effect. 
There  was  no  systematic  attempt  to  check  the  pursuit  of 
the  Indians,  who  now,  directed  by  "Gall,"  swarmed  down 
upon  them  and  prevented  them  from  reaching  the  ford  at 
which  they  had  crossed.  Many  were  killed  on  this  retreat, 
and  many  others  wounded,  among  the  former  being 
Lieutenant  Donald  Mclntosh.  Reno  headed  the  retreat, 
and  they  tore  pell  mell  across  the  valley,  and  at  the  new 
ford  they  were  lucky  to  strike,  there  was  great  confusion, 
it  being  every  man  for  himself,  and  the  devil  take  the 
hindmost;  and,  as  is  usually  the  case,  the  (red)  devil  got 
his  clutches  on  more  than  one.  Crossing  the  stream  as  best 
they  could,  Lieutenant  Hodgson  being  killed  after  having 
crossed,  men  and  horses  climbed  the  steep,  almost  inacces- 


HOW  CUSTER  LIVED  AND  DIED.       203 

sible  bluffs  and  ravines,  upon  the  top  of  which  they  had  a 
chance  to  "take  account  of  stock."  Many  had  attempted 
to  scale  the  bluffs  at  other  points  hard  by.  The  Indians 
were  up  there  in  some  force,  and  by  them,  when  almost 
up  the  cliffs,  Dr.  DeWolf  was  killed. 

After  remaining  on  the  bluffs  at  least  an  hour,  prob- 
ably longer,  a  forward  movement  down  stream  was  made 
for  a  mile  or  mile  and  a  half.  Previous  to  this,  heavy 
firing  had  been  heard  down  the  river  in  the  direction  Cus- 
ter  had  gone.  Two  distinct  volleys  were  heard  by  the 
entire  command,  followed  by  scattering  shots,  and  it  was 
supposed  Custer  was  carrying  all  before  him.  When  Eeno 
had  reached  the  limit  of  this  advance  north  toward  Custer, 
they  saw  large  numbers  of  Indian  horsemen  scurrying 
over  what  afterward  proved  to  be  Ouster's  battle-field. 
Soon  these  came  tearing  up  toward  Reno,  who  hastily 
retreated  from  what  would  seem  to  have  been  a  strong 
position,  back  to  near  the  point  where  he  had  originally 
reached  the  bluffs.  Here  they  sheltered  themselves  on  the 
small  hills  by  the  shallow  breastworks,  and  placed  the 
wounded  and  horses  in  a  depression.  That  night,  until 
between  9  and  10  o'clock,  they  were  subjected  to  a  heavy 
fire  from  the  Indians,  who  entirely  surrounded  them.  The 
firing  again  began  at  daylight  of  the  26th,  and  lasted  all 
day,  and  as  the  Indians  had  command  of  some  high  points 
near  by,  there  were  many  casualties.  Reno's  total  loss,  as 
given  by  Godfrey,  was  fifty  killed,  including  three  officers, 
and  fifty-nine  wounded.  Many  of  those  left  in  the  river 
bottom  when  the  retreat  began,  eventually  reached  the 
command  again,  escaping  under  cover  of  night. 

Of  Ouster's  movements,  opinions  of  what  he  did  or  should 
have  done,  are  many  and  various.     The  theory  first  enter- 


204  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

tained  and  held  for  years,  but  not  now  tenable  nor,  indeed, 
probably  held  by  many,  was  that  Custer  reached  the  ford 
and  attempted  to  cross ;  was  met  by  a  lire  so  scorching 
that  he  drew  back  and  retreated  to  the  hill  in  the  best 
form  possible,  and  there  fought  like  an  animal  at  bay, 
hoping  that  Reno's  attack  in  the  bottom  and  Benton's 
timely  arrival  would  yet  relieve  him.  The  Indians,  how- 
ever, strenuously  assert  that  Custer  never  attempted  the 
ford,  and  never  got  anywhere  near  it.  No  dead  bodies 
were  found  any  nearer  than  within  half  a  mile  of  the  ford, 
and  it  seems  undoubted  that  the  Indians  tell  the  truth. 

When  Custer  rode  out  on  the  bluff  and  looked  over  into 
the  valley  of  the  Greasy  Grass,  he  must  have  seen  at  once 
that  he  had  before  utterly  misapprehended  the  situation. 
The  natural  thing  to  do  would  have  been  to  retrace  his  trail, 
join  Reno  by  the  shortest  route,  and  then,  united,  have 
pushed  the  attack  in  person  or,  if  then  too  late  for  success- 
ful attack,  he  could,  in  all  likelihood,  have  extricated  the 
command  and  made  junction  with  Terry.  Indian  signals 
travel  rapidly,  and  as  soon  as  Reno  was  checked  and  beaten, 
not  only  was  this  fact  signaled  through  the  camp,  but  every 
warrior  tore  away  down  stream  to  oppose  Custer,  joining 
those  already  there,  and  now,  at  least,  alert. 

It  is  probable,  then,  that  before  Custer  could  reach  the 
creek  valley  the  Indians  had  made  sufficient  demonstra- 
tions to  cause  him  to  swerve  from  where  he  would  other- 
wise, and  naturally,  strike  it,  and  work  farther  back  toward 
the  second  line  of  bluffs,  even  perhaps  as  far  back  as  Captain 
Godfrey  gives  the  trail.  The  only  thing  to  militate  against 
this  would  be  the  element  of  time,  which  seems  hardly  to 
oppose  it.  However  he  got  there,  Custer  is  at  last  upon  the 
eminence  which  is  so  soon  to  be  consecreted  with  his  life's 


HOW  OUSTER  LIVED  AND  DIED.       205 

« 

blood.  What  saw  he?  What  did  he?  The  sources  of  infor- 
mation are  necessarily  largely  Indian.  At  the  southeastern 
end  of  the  Custer  ridge,  facing,  apparently,  the  draw,  or 
coulee,  of  the  branch  of  Custer  Creek,  Calhoun  and  Crit- 
tenden  were  placed.  Some  little  distance  back  of  them, 
in  a  depression,  and  down  the  northern  slope  of  the  Custer 
Ridge,  Keogh  stood.  Stretched  along  the  north  slope  of 
the  ridge,  from  Keogh  to  Custer  Hill,  was  Smith's  com- 
mand, and  at  the  culminating  point  of  the  ridge,  or  Custer 
Hill,  but  on  the  opposite  ridge  from  where  the  others  were 
placed,  were  Tom  Custer  and  Yates,  and  with  them  Custer 
himself.  Yates'  and  Custer' s  men  evidently  faced  north- 
west. It  would  appear  from  the  Indians'  statements  that 
most  of  the  command  were  dismounted. 

The  line  was  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  length, 
and  the  attack  was  made  by  two  strong  bodies  of  Indians. 
One  of  these  came  up  from  the  ford  named  after  the  hero 
and  victim  of  the  day.  It  was  led  by  a  daring  Indian,  with 
some  knowledge  of  generalship,  and  his  followers  were  of 
a  very  superior  class  to  the  average  red  man.  This  body 
of  attackers  did  great  execution  and  succeeded  in  almost 
annihilating  the  white  men  against  whom  they  were 
placed,  and  whom  they  outnumbered  so  conspicuously. 
From  the  meagre  information  concerning  what  took  place 
that  is  accessible,  it  appears  as  though  the  execution  of 
these  men  was  almost  equal  to  that  of  skilled  sharp- 
shooters. A  reckless  Indian  named  "Crazy  Horse"  was  at 
the  head  of  a  number  of  Cheyennes  who  formed  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  the  second  attacking  body.  These  encount- 
ered Custer  himself,  and  the  men  immediately  under  his 
orders.  Outnumbering  the  white  men  to  an  overwhelming 
extent,  they  circled  around,  and  being  reinforced  by  the 


206  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

lirst  column,  which  by  this  time  was  elated  by  victory  and 
reckless  as  to  its  brutality,  it  commenced  the  work  of  blot- 
ting out  of  existence  the  gallant  cavalrymen  before  them. 

Most  of  Ouster's  men  knew  the  nature  of  their  destroy- 
ers too  well  to  think  of  crying  for  quarter  or  making  any 
effort  to  escape.  There  was  a  blank  space  between  the 
ridge  on  which  the  battle  was  fought  and  the  river  below. 
Some  few  men  ran  down  this  spot  in  hopes  of  fording  the 
river  and  finding  temporary  hiding  places ;  they  prolonged 
their  lives  but  for  a  few  minutes  only,  for  some  of  the 
fleetest  Indians  rushed  after  them  and  killed  them  as  they 
ran.  The  horse  upon  which  (Captain  Keogh  rode  into  the 
battle  escaped  the  general  slaughter,  and  found  its  way 
back  once  more  to  civilization.  Of  the  way  it  spent  its 
declining  years  we  have  already  spoken. 

With  this  exception,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  no 
living  creature  which  entered  the  fight  with  Custer  came 
out  of  it  alive.  A  Crow  scout  named  "Curley,"  claims  that 
he  was  in  the  fight,  and  that  after  it  was  over  he  disguised 
himself  as  a  Sioux,  held  his  blanket  around  his  head  and 
escaped.  "Curley's"  statement  was  never  received  with 
much  credence.  The  evidence  generally  points  to  the  fact 
that,  prior  to  the  battle,  nearly  all  the  Indian  scouts  who  were 
with  Custer  on  the  march  ran  away  when  they  saw  the 
overpowering  nature  of  the  foe.  " Sitting  Bull,"  who  has 
since  met  the  fate  many  believe  he  deserved,  also  claimed 
to  be  in  the  fight  on  the  other  side.  His  story  of  the 
prowess  of  Custer,  and  of  his  death,  was  probably  con- 
cocted with  a  view  to  currying  favor  with  white  men,  as  it 
appears  evident  that  "Sitting  Bull"  showed  his  usual  cow- 
ardice, and  ran  away  before  there  was  a  battle  within 
twenty-four  hours'  distance. 


HOW  OUSTER  LIVED  AND  DIED.       207 

Major  James  McLaughlin,  during  his  experience  as 
Indian  Agent  at  Standing  Rock  Agency,  North  Dakota, 
had  an  opportunity  of  gathering  a  great  deal  of  important 
information  with  reference  to  the  battle-field  and  incidents 
connected  with  it.  At  the  request  of  Mr.  Wheeler,  whose 
researches  into  the  legends  and  history  of  interesting  spots 
within  easy  access  by  means  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 
road were  most  successful,  obtained  from  the  Major  the 
following  valuable  information  concerning  many  points  of 
detail  which  have  been  the  subject  of  debate  and  dispute: 
"It  is  difficult,"  says  this  undoubted  authority,  "to 
arrive  at  even  approximately  the  number  of  Indians  who 
were  encamped  in  the  valley  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  when 
Ouster's  command  reached  there  on  June  25th,  1876;  the 
indifference  of  the  Indians  as  to  ascertaining  their  strength 
by  actual  count,  and  their  ideas  at  that  time  being  too 
crude  to  know  themselves.  I  have  been  stationed  at  this 
Agency  since  the  surrendered  hostiles  were  brought  here 
in  the  summer  of  1881,  and  have  conversed  frequently 
with  many  of  the  Indians  who  were  engaged  in  that  fight, 
and  more  particularly  with 'Gall,'  'Crow  King,'  'Big  Road/ 
'Hump,'  'Sitting  Bull,'  'Gray  Eagle,'  'Spotted  Horn  Bull,' 
and  other  prominent  men  of  the  Sioux,  regarding  the  Custer 
affair.  When  questioned  as  to  the  number  of  Indians 
engaged,  the  answer  has  invariably  been,  'None  of  us  knew; 
nina  wicoti,'  which  means  'very  many  lodges.'  From  this 
source  of  information,  which  is  the  best  obtainable,  I 
place  the  number  of  male  adults  then  in  the  camp  at  3,000  ; 
and  that  on  June  25th,  1876,  the  fighting  strength  of  the 
Indians  was  between  2,500  and  3,000,  and  more  probably 
approximating  the  latter  number. 

"  'Sitting  Bull'  was  a  recognized  medicine  man,  and  of 


208  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

great  repute  among  the  Sioux,  not  so  much  for  his  powers 
of  healing  and  curing  the  sick — which,  after  he  had  re- 
gained such  renown,  was  beneath  his  dignity — as  for  his 
prophecies ;  and  no  matter  how  absurd  his  prophecies 
might  be,  he  found  ready  believers  and  willing  followers, 
and  when  his  prophecies  failed  to  come  to  pass,  he  always 
succeeded  in  satisfying  his  over-credulous  followers  by 
giving  some  absurd  reason.  For  instance,  I  was  in  his 
camp  on  Grande  River  in  the  spring  of  1888,  sometime 
about  the  end  of  June.  There  had  been  no  rain  for  some 
weeks,  and  crops  were  suffering  from  drouth,  and  I 
remarked  to  him,  who  was  in  an  assemblage  of  a  large 
number  of  Indians  of  that  district,  that  the  crops  needed 
rain  badly,  and  that  if  much  longer  without  rain  the  crops 
would  amount  to  nothing.  He,  'Sitting  Bull,'  replied: 
'Yes,  the  crops  need  rain,  and  my  people  have  been  im- 
portuning me  to  have  it  rain.  I  ana  considering  the  matter 
as  to  whether  I  will  or  not.  I  can  make  it  rain  any  time 
I  wish,  but  I  fear  hail.  I  cannot  control  hail,  and  should 
I  make  it  rain,  heavy  hail  might  follow,  which  would  ruin 
the  prairie  grass  as  well  as  the  crops,  and  our  horses  and  our 
cattle  would  thus  be  deprived  of  subsistence.'  He  made 
this  statement  with  as  much  apparent  candor  as  it  was 
possible  for  a  man  to  give  expression  to,  and  there  was 
not  an  Indian  among  his  hearers  but  appeared  to  accept  it 
as  within  his  power. 

"  'Sitting  Bull'  was  dull  in  intellect,  and  not  near  as  able 
a  man  as  'Gall,'  'Hump,'  'Crow,'  and  many  others  who  were 
regarded  as  subordinate  to  him ;  but  he  was  an  adept 
schemer  and  very  cunning,  and  could  work  upon  the  cre- 
dulity of  the  Indians  to  a  wonderful  degree,  and  this, 
together  with  great  obstinacy  and  tenacity,  gained  for  him 


HOW  OUSTER  LIVEQ  AND  DIED.       209 

his  world-wide  reputation.  'Sitting  Bull'  claimed  in  his 
statement  to  me  that  he  directed  and  led  in  the  Custer 
fight ;  but  all  the  other  Indians  with  whom  I  have  talked 
contradict  it,  and  said  that  *  Sitting  Bull'  fled  with  his  family 
as  soon  as  the  village  was  attacked  by  Major  Reno's  com- 
mand, and  that  he  was  making  his  way  to  a  place  of 
safety,  several  miles  out  in  the  hills,  when  overtaken  by 
some  of  his  friends  with  news  of  victory  over  the  soldiers, 
whereupon  he  returned,  and  in  his  usual  style,  took  all  the 
credit  of  victory  to  himself  as  having  planned  for  the  out- 
come, and  as  having  been  on  a  bluff  overlooking  the  battle- 
field, appeasing  the  evil  spirits  and  invoking  the  Great 
Spirit  for  the  result  of  the  fight. 

"And,  when  considering  the  ignorance  and  inherent 
superstition  of  the  average  Sioux  Indian  at  that  time,  it  is 
not  to  be*  wondered  at  that  the  majority,  if  not  all,  were 
willing  to  accept  it,  especially  when  united  in  common 
cause  and  what  they  considered  as  their  only  safety  from 
annihilation.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  was  no  one  man 
who  led  or  directed  that  fight;  it  was  a  pell  mell  rush 
under  a  number  of  recognized  warriors  as  leaders,  with 
'Gall'  of  the  Hunkpapas  and  *  Crazy  Horse'  of  the 
Cheyennes  the  more  prominent. 

"The  Indians  with  whom  I  have  talked  deny  having 
mutilated  any  of  the  killed,  but  admit  that  many  dead 
bodies  were  mutilated  by  women  of  the  camp.  They  also 
claim  that  the  fight  with  Custer  was  of  short  duration. 
They  have  no  knowledge  as  to  hours  and  minutes,  but  have 
explained  by  the  distance  that  could  be  walked  while  the 
fight  lasted.  They  vary  from  twenty  minutes  to  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour,  none  placing  it  longer  than  forty-five 
minutes.  This  does  not  include  the  fight  with  Reno  before 


210  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

his  retreat,  but  from  the  time  that  Ouster's  command 
advanced  and  the  fight  with  his  command  commenced. 
The  opinion  of  the  Indians  regarding  Reno's  first  attack 
and  short  stand  is,  that  it  was  his  retreat  that  gave  them 
the  victory  over  Ouster's  command.  The  helter  skelter 
retreat  of  Reno's  men  enthused  the  Indians  to  such  an 
extent  that,  flushed  with  excitement  and  this  early  success, 
they  were  reckless  in  their  charge  upon  Ouster's  command, 
and  with  the  slight  number  of  Indians  thus  fully  enthused, 
that  small  command  was  but  a  slight  check  to  their  sweep- 
ing impetuosity.  The  Indians  also  state  that  the  separated 
detachments  made  their  victory  over  the  troops  more 
certain." 

Thus  Ouster  fell.  The  mystery  surrounding  his  death 
will  probably  never  be  solved  in  a  satisfactory  manner, 
owing  to  the  impossibility  of  placing  any  reliance  on  state- 
ments made  by  the  Indians.  The  way  in  which  the 
command  was  annihilated  and  the  soldiers'  bodies  muti- 
lated, should  go  a  long  way  towards  disproving  many  of 
the  theories  now  in.  existence  concerning  the  alleged  ill 
treatment  of  Indians,  and  their  natural  peacefulness  and 
good  disposition.  Ouster  had  so  frequently  befriended 
the  very  men  who  surrounded  his  command  and  annihilated* 
it,  that  the  baseness  of  their  ingratitude  should  be  apparent 
even  to  those  who  are  inclined  to  sympathize  with  the  red 
men,  and  to  denounce  the  alleged  severity  with  which  they 
have  been  treated.  Travelers  through  the  Dakota  region 
find  few  spots  of  more  melancholy,  though  marked,  inter- 
est than  the  one  illustrated  in  connection  with  this 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AMONG    THE    CREOLES. 

Meaning  of  the  Word  "  Creole  "—An  Old  Aristocratic  Relic— The 
Venice  of  America — Origin  of  the  Creole  Carnivals — Rex  and  His 
Annual  Disguises — Creole  Balls — The  St.  Louis  Veiled  Prophets — 
The  French  Market  and  Other  Landmarks  in  New  Orleans — A 
Beautiful  Ceremony  and  an  Unfinished  Monument. 

mEW  ORLEANS  is  known  throughout  the  world  for 
the  splendor  of  its  carnivals.  As  one  of  the  great 
Creole  cities  of  the  world,  it  has  for  more  than  half  a 
century  made  merry  once  a  year,  and  given  quite  a  busi- 
ness aspect  to  carnival  festivities.  The  Creole  is  one  of 
the  interesting  characters  to  be  met  with  in  a  tour  through 
the  United  States.  As  a  rule,  he  or  she  is  joyous  in  the 
extreme,  and  believes  most  heartily  in  the  wisdom  of  the 
command  to  "laugh  and  grow  fat."  The  genuine  Creole 
scarcely  knows  what  it  is  to  be  sad  for  more  than  a  few 
hours  at  a  time,  a  very  little  pleasure  more  than  offsetting 
a  very  great  deal  of  trouble  and  suffering.  A  desire  to 
move  around  and  to  enjoy  changes  of  scene  is  a  special 
feature  of  the  Creole,  and  hence  the  spectacular  effects  of 
the  carnival  procession  appeal  most  eloquently  to  him. 

Many  Eastern  and  Northern  people  confound  the  term 
"Creole"  and  "Mulatto,"  believing  that  the  former  name 
is  given  to  the  offspring  of  mixed  marriages,  which  take 
place  in  spite  of  the  vigilance  of  the  laws  of  most  of  the 
Southern  States.  This  is  entirely  a  mistake,  for  the  gen- 
uine Creole,  instead  of  being  an  object  of  contempt  and 

(211) 


212  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

pity,  is  rather  an  aristocrat  and  of  a  higher  caste  than  the 
average  white  man.  Strictly  speaking,  the  term  implies 
birth  in  this  country,  but  foreign  parentage  or  ancestry. 
It  was  originally  applied  to  the  children  of  French  and 
Spanish  settlers  in  Louisiana,  and  in  that  application 
applied  only  to  quite  a  handful  of  people.  As  time  has 
worn  on,  and  French  emigration  has  ceased,  and  the 
Spaniard  has  been  gradually  pushed  south,  the  number  of 
actual  Creoles  has  of  course  diminished  rapidly.  The 
name,  however,  by  common  consent,  has  been  perpetuated 
and  is  retained  by  descendants  in  the  third  and  fourth  gen- 
erations of  original  Creoles.  Some  of  the  Creoles  of 
to-day  are  very  wealthy,  and  many  of  the  others  are  com- 
paratively poor,  changes  in  modes  and  conditions  of  life 
having  affected  them  very  much.  Although  the  very 
name  Creole  suggests  Spanish  origin,  there  is  more  French 
blood  among  the  Creoles  of  to-day  than  that  of  any  other 
nation.  The  vivacious  habits  and  general  love  of  change 
so  common  among  French  people,  continue  in  their 
descendants.  The  old  plan  of  sending  the  children  over  to 
France  to  be  educated  has  been  largely  abandoned  in 
these  later  days,  but  the  influences  of  Parisian  life  still 
have  their  effect  on  the  race. 

This  is  largely  the  reason  why  it  is  that  New  Orleans 
has  been  often  spoken  of  as  the  American  Venice.  To 
that  beautiful  European  city,  with  its  gondolas  and  pictur- 
esque costumes,  belongs  the  honor  of  having  originated 
high-class  comedy.  To  New  Orleans  must  be  given  the 
credit  of  planting,  or  at  any  rate  perpetuating,  the  idea  in 
a  tangible  shape  in  this  country,  and  of  having,  for  fully 
two  generations,  kept  up  the  annual  celebration  almost 
without  a  break.  Masquerading  came  across  the  Atlantic 


AMONG    THE    CREOLES.  213 

from  Venice  by  way  of  France,  where  the  idea  took 
strong  hold.  When  emigration  from  France  to  the  old 
Territory  of  Louisiana  became  general,  the  idea  came  with 
it,  and  the  practice  of  sending  children  to  Paris  to  be 
educated  resulted  in  the  latest  ideas  of  aristocratic  festivi- 
ties being  brought  over  to  the  home  which  has  since 
sheltered  them. 

History  tells  us  that  on  New  Year's  Eve  of  1831,  a 
number  of  pleasure-seeking  men  spent  tho  entire  night  in 
a  Creole  restaurant  at  Mobile  arranging  for  the  first  mystic 
order  in  that  city,  and  from  this  beginning  the  long  line 
of  Creole  comedies  sprang  up.  In  1857,  the  Mystic 
Krevve  of  Comus  made  its  first  appearance  upon  the  streets 
of  Now  Orleans.  "Paradise  Lost"  was  the  subject  selected 
for  illustration.  Year  after  year  the  revelry  was  repeated 
on  Shrove  Tuesday,  but  the  outbreak  of  the  war  naturally 
put  a  stop  to  the  annual  rejoicing.  Southern  enthusiasm 
is,  however,  hard  to  down,  and  directly  the  war  was  over, 
Comus  reappeared  in  all  his  glory.  A  few  years  later  the 
Knights  of  Momus  were  created,  and  in  1876  the  Krewe  of 
Proteus  had  its  first  carnival.  Many  other  orders  have 
followed,  but  these  are  the  more  magnificent  and  im- 
portant. 

It  is  difficult  to  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  feeling 
which  prevails  in  regard  to  these  comedies.  The  mystery 
which  surrounds  the  orders  is  extraordinary,  and  the  secret 
has  been  well  kept,  a  fact  which  cynics  attribute  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  ladies  from  the  secret  circle.  It  is  well  known  that 
on  many  occasions  men  have  pretended  to  leave  the  city  on 
the  eve  of  the  comedy,  and  to  have  returned  to  their 
homes  a  day  or  two  later,  not  even  their  own  families 
knowing  that  they  took  a  leading  part  in  the  procession. 


214  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

The  Carnival  Kings  issue  royal  edicts  prior  to  their  arrival, 
commanding  all  business  to  cease  on  the  occasion  of 
the  rejoicings.  The  command  is  obeyed  literally.  Banks, 
courts  of  justice  and  business  houses  generally  suspend 
operations,  and  old  and  young  alike  turn  out  to  do  homage 
to  the  monarch  of  the  day. 

Let  us  imagine  for  a  moment  we  are  privileged  to  see  a 
Creole  carnival.  Every  inch  of  available  space  has  been 
taken  up.  Every  balcony  overlooking  the  royal  route  is 
crowded  with  pleasure  parties,  including  richly  dressed 
ladies,  all  the  flower  and  beauty  of  the  Sunny  South  being 
represented.  The  course  is  illuminated  in  the  most  attrac- 
tive manner,  and  every  one  is  waiting  anxiously  for  the 
procession.  Bands  of  music,  playing  sprightly  tunes,  finally 
reward  the  patience  of  the  watchers.  Then  come  heralds, 
bodyguards  and  marshals,  all  gorgeously  arrayed  for  the 
occasion.  Their  horses,  like  themselves,  are  richly  adorned 
for  the  occasion,  and  the  banners  and  flags  are  conspicuous 
for  the  artistic  blending  of  colors. 

Then  riding  in  state  comes  the  Lord  High  Chamberlain, 
bearing  the  golden  key  of  the  city,  delivered  over  to  him 
in  state  twenty -four  hours  previously  by  the  Mayor. 
Next  comes  the  hero  of  the  parade,  the  King  himself.  All 
eyes  are  riveted  upon  him.  Thoroughly  disguised  himself, 
he  is  able  to  recognize  on  the  balconies  and  among  the 
crowds  his  personal  friends  and  most  devoted  admirers. 
To  these  he  bows  with  great  solemnity.  Mystified  to  a 
degree,  and  often  disputing  among  themselves  as  to  the 
probable  identity  of  the  monarch,  the  richly  dressed  young 
ladies  and  their  cavaliers  bow  in  return,  and  look  as  though 
they  would  fain  hold  the  monarch  among  them  much 
longer  than  the  necessity  of  keeping  order  makes  it  possi- 


AMONG    THE    CREOLES.  217 

ble.  Following  the  King  are  the  bodyguards  and  crowds 
of  holiday  makers. 

Rex  generally  makes  a  display  now  of  some  special 
theme,  appearing  this  year  as  a  crusader,  another  year  as 
the  discoverer  of  America,  and  a  third  year  as  some  other 
mystic  individual.  But  no  matter  what  the  subject  of  the 
carnival  may  be,  the  underlying  principle  is  the  same. 
Sometimes  a  great  deal  of  instruction  is  imparted  with  the 
mirth-making,  but  in  every  case  the  procession  is  but  a 
signal  for  general  rejoicing.  Directly  the  procession  is 
disbanded,  which  always  takes  place  in  military  order,  the 
entire  city  gives  way  to  fun  and  mirth  of  every  character. 
Liberty  abounds  throughout  the  city  without  license.  By 
common  consent  every  one  is  careful  to  prevent  disturbance 
or  trouble.  All  are  happy,  and  every  one  seems  to  appre- 
ciate the  fact  that  the  very  life  of  the  comedy  depends 
upon  its  respectability.  There  is  nothing  vulgar  or  com- 
mon about  any  of  the  proceedings,  or  about  the  countless 
tableaux  which  pass  along  the  private  streets.  Everything 
is  what  has  been  described  as  orderly  disorder.  Every- 
thing is  attractive  and  easy. 

The  ball,  which  is  a  prominent  feature  of  a  Creole 
carnival,  is  a  wonderful  combination  of  Nineteenth  Century 
aristocratic  ideas  and  of  Oriental  humor.  The  guests  are 
in  full  dress,  and  represent  the  highest  elements  of  South- 
ern society.  Around  the  carpeted  floor,  those  who  have 
taken  part  in  the  pageant  march  in  their  grotesque  cos- 
tumes. An  apparently  blood-thirsty  Indian,  brandishing  a 
<?lub  over  his  head,  darts  for  a  second  from  the  line  to  go 
through  the  motions  of  dashing  out  the  brains  of  perhaps 
a  most  intimate  friend,  who  has  no  idea  who  has  thus  hon- 
ored him  by  a  recognition. 

13 


218  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

Another  man,  who  in  everyday  life  is,  perhaps,  a 
sedate  banker  or  a  prominent  physician,  is  masquerading 
in  some  extraordinary  attire  with  a  mask  of  extraordinary 
dimensions  and  significance.  He  sees  in  the  throng  a 
young  lady  of  his  acquaintance,  and  proceeds  to  shake 
hands  with  her  with  great  effusion.  So  well  is  the  secret 
kept,  that  she  has  no  idea  that  the  apparently  frolicsome 
youth  is  a  middle-aged  man  of  business,  and  she  spends 
perhaps  half  the  night  wondering  which  of  her  beaus  this 
fearfully  and  wonderfully  disguised  man  was. 

Of  the  balls  which  succeed  carnivals  in  the  cities  which 
delight  in  these  temporary  divorces  from  the  cares  of  busi- 
ness and  finance,  ptiges  might  be  written.  One  ball  only 
need  be  mentioned  in  any  detail.  This  is  the  ball  given  by 
the  " Knights  of  Revelry,"  in  connection  with  and  at  the 
expense  .of  the  Mobile  clubs.  The  entire  theatre  was- 
rearranged  in  illustration  of  the  theme  of  the  club's 
pageant  for  the  year.  All  around  the  halls  were  hung 
tapestries  and  banners,  artistically  decorated,  and  arranged 
so  as  to  convey  the  idea  of  forests  and  gardens.  The  very 
doors  were  converted  into  mimic  entrances  to  caves  and 
parterres,  and  the  general  effect  was  entrancing  as  well  as 
sentimental.  The  band  was  hidden  from  the  guests  in  a 
most  delightfully  arranged  little  Swiss  chalet,  and  refresh- 
ments were  served  from  miniature  garden  pavilions.  The 
very  floors  upon  which  the  dancing  was  to  take  place  were 
decorated  so  as  to  present  the  appearance  of  a  newly  mown 
lawn. 

The  height  of  realism  was  attained  by  means  of  an  imi- 
tation moat  over  the  orchestra  well.  Across  this  was  a 
drawbridge,  which  was  raised  and  dropped  at  fitting  inter- 
vals, and  the  drop  curtain  was  made  to  represent  a  massive 


AMONG    THE    CREOLES.  219 

castle  door.  There  was  a  banquet  chamber,  with  faultless 
reproductions  of  mediaeval  grandeur  and  wonder.  Stained 
glass  windows  represented  well-known  and  attractive 
ladies,  and  there  were  other  marvelous  and  costly  innova- 
tions which  seemed  practically  impossible  within  a  theatre. 

At  this  ball,  as  at  all  others,  the  revelry  proceeded 
until  midnight.  Just  as  Cinderella  left  the  ball  when  the 
clock  struck  12,  so  do  the  holders  of  the  Creole  revels 
stop  dancing  immediately  that  Lent  has  commenced.  The 
next  day  all  is  over.  Men  who  the  night  before  were  the 
leaders  in  the  masquerade,  resume  their  commonplace 
existence,  and  are  seen  at  the  ordinary  seats  of  custom, 
buying  and  selling  and  conducting  themselves  like  Eastern 
rather  than  Southern  men. 

The  carnival  idea  has  not  been  confined  to  strictly 
Southern  cities.  St.  Louis  has,  for  many  years  in  succes- 
sion, enjoyed  the  pageants  and  balls  of  its  Veiled  Prophets, 
an  organization  as  secret  and  mysterious  as  any  to  be 
found  in  a  Creole  section.  Instead  of  being  a  Mardi  Gras 
celebration,  the  St.  Louis  pageant  is  given  during  the 
Indian  summer  days  of  the  first  week  of  October.  The 
parade  takes  place  after  night-fall,  and  consists  of  very 
costly  pageants  and  displays.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  have  been  spent  in 
illuminating  the  streets  through  which  the  processions  have 
passed,  the  money  for  this  purpose  being  freely  subscribed 
by  business  men  and  private  citizens.  But  in  St.  Louis,  as 
in  New  Orleans,  no  one  knows  who  finds  the  money  to  pay 
for  the  preparation  of  the  pageant,  the  rich  and  varied  cos- 
tumes, the  exquisite  invitations  and  souvenirs,  and  the 
gorgeous  balls.  Readers  of  the  "Pickwick  Papers"  will 
remember  that  when  certain  members  of  the  club  proposed 


220  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

to  make  a  tour  of  the  country,  with  a  view  to  noting  mat- 
ters of  special  interest,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  not  to 
limit  the  scope  of  the  investigations,  and  to  extend  to  the 
investigators  the  privilege  of  paying  their  own  expenses. 
Very  much  the  same  rule  prevails  in  regard  to  the  Creole 
carnivals  and  balls,  and  the  adaptation  of  the  idea  in  other 
cities.  The  utmost  secrecy  is  preserved,  and  it  is  consid- 
ered bad  form  in  the  extreme  to  even  hint  at  belonging  to 
any  of  the  secret  orders.  The  members  subscribe  all 
expenses  themselves  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  and 
there  has  never  been  such  a  thing  seen  as  a  list  of  the 
amounts  donated. 

There  are  not  lacking  people  who  say  that  these  cele- 
brations are  childish,  and  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  business 
community.  The  answer  to  criticisms  of  this  kind  is,  that 
no  one  being  asked  to  contribute  to  the  expense  of  the 
revelries,  or  being  even  asked  or  allowed  to  purchase  a 
ticket  of  admission  to  the  balls,  any  criticisms  are  very 
much  like  looking  a  gift  horse  in  the  mouth.  If  it  be 
agreed  that  life  is  made  up  of  something  more  than  one 
stern,  continuous  race  for  wealth,  then  it  must  be  conceded 
that  these  carnivals  occupy  a  most  important  part  in  the 
routine  of  life.  The  absolute  unselfishness  of  the  entire 
work  commends  it  to  the  approval  of  the  most  indifferent. 
Those  who  raise  the  expense  have  to  work  so  hard  during 
the  parades  and  balls  that  they  get  comparatively  little 
pleasure  from  them,  while  they  are  also  prevented  by  the 
absolute  secrecy  which  prevails  from  securing  so  much  as 
a  word  of  thanks  or  congratulation  from  the  outside  public. 
In  this  material  age,  there  is  a  danger  of  celebrations 
of  this  kind  wearing  themselves  out.  When  they 
do  so,  the  world  will  be  the  poorer  in  consequence. 


AMONG    THE    CREOLES.  221 

New  Orleans,  to  which  we  have  referred  as  the  great 
home  of  the  Creole  carnival,  is  a  city  known  the  world 
over  by  reputation.  It  is  situated  at  the  very  mouth  of 
the  great  Mississippi  River,  and  its  history  dates  back  to 
the  year  1542,  when  a  gallant  band  of  adventurers  floated 
down  the  river  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  1682,  La  Salle 
sailed  down  the  river  and  took  possession  of  the  country 
on  both  sides  of  it  in  the  name  of  France.  In  the  closing 
days  of  the  Seventeenth  Century  a  French  expedition 
landed  not  far  from  New  Orleans,  which  was  founded  in 
1718,  with  a  population  of  sixty-eight  souls.  Three  years 
later,  the  city,  which  now  contains  a  population  of  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  million,  was  made  the  capital  of  the 
Territory  of  Louisiana,  and  it  at  once  became  a  place  of 
considerable  importance. 

In  1764,  it  was  ceded  to  Spain,  and  this  resulted  in  the 
people  taking  possession  of  New  Orleans  and  resisting  the 
change  in  government.  Five  years  later,  the  new  Spanish 
Governor  arrived  with  ample  troops,  suppressed  the  rebel- 
lion, and  executed  its  leaders  from  the  Place  d'Armes.  In 
1804,  the  territory  of  Orleans  was  established,  and  in 
1814,  a  British  army,  15,000  strong,  advanced  on  the 
city  after  which  the  Territory  was  named.  A  great 
deal  of  confusion  followed,  but  the  city  held  its  own,  and 
the  invading  army  was  repulsed. 

During  the  Civil  War  New  Orleans  again  saw  active 
campaigning.  The  occupancy  of  the  city  by  General 
Butler,  and  the  stern  measures  he  adopted  to  suppress  the 
loyalty  even  of  the  women  of  the  town,  has  formed  the 
subject  of  much  comment.  There  are  many  interesting 
stories  concerning  this  epoch  in  the  city's  history,  which 
are  told  with  many  variations  to  every  one  who  sojourns 


222  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

for  a  while  in  the  great  port  at  the  gate  of  the  greatest 
river  in  the  world. 

To-day,  New  Orleans  is  perhaps  best  known  as  the 
second  largest  cotton  mart  in  the  world,  some  2,000,000 
bales  of  the  product  of  the  Southern  plantations  being  re- 
ceived and  shipped  out  every  year.  More  than  30,000,000 
pounds  of  wool  and  12,000,000  pounds  of  hides  also  pass 
through  the  city  every  year,  to  say  nothing  of  immense 
quantities  of  bananas  and  costly  transactions  in  sugar 
and  lumber. 

Although  New  Orleans  is  really  some  little  distance 
from  the  ocean,  the  river  at  this  point  is  more  than 
half  a  mile  wide,  and  the  great  ships  of  all  nations 
are  seen  loading  and  unloading  at  its  levee. 

New  Orleans  naturally  abounds  in  ancient  landmarks 
and  memorials.  The  old  Spanish  Fort  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  among  these.  Warfare  of  the  most  bitter 
character  was  seen  again  and  again  at  this  place.  The 
fortifications  were  kept  up  largely  to  afford  protection 
against  raids  from  Mexican  pirates  and  hostile  Indians, 
though  they  were  often  useful  against  more  civilized  foes. 
It  was  at  this  port  that  Andrew  Jackson  prepared  to 
receive  the  British  invaders.  The  magnificent  use  he  made 
of  the  fortifications  should  have  given  to  the  old  place  a 
lasting  standing  and  a  permanent  preservation.  Some 
forty  years  ago,  however,  the  fort  was  purchased  and 
turned  into  a  kind  of  country  resort,  and  more  lately  it 
has  become  the  home  of  a  recreation  club. 

Better  preserved,  and  a  most  interesting  connecting 
link  between  the  past  and  the  present,  is  the  world- 
renowned  French  Market  in  New  Orleans.  A  story  is  told 
of  a  great  novelist,  who  traveled  several  thousand  miles  in 


AMONG    THE    CREOLES.  223 

order  to  find  representatives  of  all  nationalities  grouped 
together  in  one  narrow  space.  For  a  work  he  had  in  con- 
templation he  was  anxious  to  select  for  his  characters  men 
of  all  nationalities,  whom  chance  or  destiny  had  thrown 
together.  He  spent  several  days  in  Paris,  journeyed 
throughout  sunny  Italy,  got  lost  in  some  of  the  labyrinths 
of  the  unexplored  sections  of  London,  and  finally  crossed 
the  Atlantic  without  having  found  the  group  of  which  he 
was  in  search.  Not  even  in  the  large  cities  of  America 
could  he  find  his  heart's  desire,  and  it  was  not  until  he 
strayed  into  the  old  French  Market  of  New  Orleans  that 
he  found  that  for  which  he  searched.  He  spent  several 
days,  and  even  weeks,  wandering  through  the  peculiar 
market,  and  making  friends  with  the  men  of  all  nationali- 
ties who  were  working  in  different  parts  of  it.  He  found 
the  Creole,  full  of  anecdote,  superstition  and  pride,  even 
when  he  was  earning  an  occasional  meal  by  helping  to  un- 
load bananas,  or  to  carry  away  the  refuse  from  the  fish 
stores.  The  negro,  in  every  phase  of  development,  civil- 
ization and  ignorance,  could,  and  always  can,  be  found 
within  the  confines  of  the  market.  The  amount  of  folk-lore 
stored  up  in  the  brains  covered  by  masses  of  unkempt  wool 
astounded  the  novelist,  who  distributed  dollars,  in  return 
for  information  received,  so  lavishly,  that  he  began  to  be 
looked  upon  after  a  while  as  a  capitalist  whose  wealth  had 
driven  him  insane.  Then,  again,  he  met  disappointed  em- 
igrants from  nearly  all  the  European  countries,  men,  and 
even  women,  who  had  crossed  the  Atlantic  full  of  great 
expectations,  but  who  had  found  a  good  many  thorns 
among  the  looked-for  roses. 

The  Indian  is  not  often  seen  now  around  the  French 
Market,   although  he  used  to  be    quite    a  feature    of   it. 


224  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

Some  of  the  most  exceptionally  idle  loungers,  however, 
show  evidence  of  Indian  blood  in  their  veins,  in  the  shape 
of  exceptionally  high  cheek-bones,  and  abnormally  straight 
and  ungovernable  hair. 

Almost  every  known  language  is  spoken  here.  There 
is  the  purest  French  and  the  most  atrocious  patois.  There 
is  polished  English,  which  seems  to  indicate  high  educa- 
tion, and  there  is  the  most  picturesque  dialect  variation 
that  could  be  desired  by  the  most  ardent  devotee  of  the 
everlasting  dialect  story.  Spanish  is  of  course  spoken  by 
several  of  the  market  traders  and  workers,  while  Italian  is 
quite  common.  At  times  in  the  day,  when  trade  is  very 
busy,  the  visitor  may  hear  choice  expletives  in  three  or 
four  languages  at  one  time.  He  may  not  be  able  to  inter- 
pret the  peculiar  noises  and  stern  rebukes  administered  to 
idle  help  and  truant  boys,  but  he  can  generally  guess 
pretty  accurately  the  scope  and  object  of  the  little  speeches 
which  are  scattered  around  so  freely. 

If  it  be  asked  what,  special  function  the  market  fulfills, 
the  answer  is  that  it  is  a  kind  of  inquire-within  for  every- 
thing. Many  of  the  poorer  people  do  all  their  trading 
here.  Fruit  is  a  great  staple,  and  on  another  page  a 
picture  is  given  of  one  of  the  fruit  stands  of  the  old 
market.  The  picture  is  reproduced  from  a  photograph 
taken  on  the  spot  by  an  artist  of  the  National  Company  of 
St.  Louis,  publishers  of  "Our  Own  Country,"  and  it 
shows  well  the  peculiar  construction  of  the  market.  The 
fruit  sections  are  probably  the  most  attractive  and 
the  least  objectionable  of  the  entire  market,  because  here 
cleanliness  is  indispensable.  In  the  vegetable  section, 
which  is  also  very  large,  there  is  not  always  quite  so 
much  care  displayed  or  so  much  cleanliness  enforced, 


AMONG    THE    CREOLES.  225 

refuse  being  sometimes  allowed  to  accumulate  liberally. 
Fish  can  be  obtained  in  this  market  for  an  almost 
nominal  consideration,  being  sometimes  almost  given  away. 
Macaroni  and  other  similar  articles  of  diet  form  the  staple 
feature  of  the  Italian  store  of  trade,  which  is  carried  on 
on  the  second  floor  of  the  market.  The  legitimate  work 
called  for  alone  provides  excuse  for  the  presence  of  many 
thousand  people,  who  run  hither  and  thither  at  certain 
hours  of  the  day  as  though  time  were  the  essence  of  the 
contract,  and  no  delay  of  any  kind  could  be  tolerated.  As 
soon,  however,  as  the  pressing  needs  of  the  moment  are 
satisfied,  a  period  of  luxurious  idleness  follows,  and  rest 
seems  to  be  the  chief  desideratum  of  the  average  habitue 
or  employe.  The  children,  who  are  sitting  around  in 
large  numbers,  vie  with  their  elders  in  matters  of  idleness, 
though  they  are  occasionally  aroused  to  a  condition  of 
pernicious  activity  by  the  hope  of  securing  donations  or 
compensation  of  some  kind  from  newcomers  and  guests. 

Structurally,  the  French  Market  is  very  well  preserved. 
There  are  evidences  of  antiquity  and  of  the  ravages  of  time 
and  weather  on  every  side,  but  for  all  that  the  market 
seems  to  have  as  its  special  mission  the  reminding  of  the 
people  that  when  our  ancestors  built,  they  built  for  ages, 
and  not  entirely  for  the  immediate  present,  as  is  too  often 
the  case  nowadays.  The  market  also  serves  as  a  link 
between  the  present  and  the  past.  It  is  only  of  late  years 
that  the  bazaar,  which  used  to  be  so  prominent  a  feature, 
has  fallen  into  insignificance.  Formerly  it  retained  the 
importance  of  the  extreme  Orient,  and  afforded  infinite  fund 
for  reflection  for  the  antiquarian  and  the  lover  of  history. 

The  cemeteries  of  New  Orleans  are  of  exceptional 
interest,  and  are  visited  every  year  by  thousands  of  peo- 


226  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

pie.  Owing  to  the  proximimity  of  the  water  mark  to  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  the  dead  are  not  buried  as  in  other 
cities,  and  the  vaults  are  above  instead  of  under  ground. 
They  are  well  arranged,  and  the  antiquity  of  the  burial 
grounds,  and  the  historic  memories  connected  with  the 
tablets,  combine  to  make  them  of  more  than  ordinary 
interest.  The  local  custom  of  suspending  business  on  the 
first  day  of  November  of  each  year  for  the  purpose  of 
decorating  graves  in  all  the  cemeteries,  is  also  worthy  of 
more  than  a  passing  notice.  Not  only  do  people  decorate 
the  last  resting  places  of  their  friends  and  relatives  on  this 
specially  selected  day,  but  even  the  graves  of  strangers  are 
cared  for  in  a  spirit  of  thankfulness  that  the  angel  of 
death  has  not  entered  the  family  circle,  and  made  inroads 
into  bonds  of  friendship. 

A  few  years  ago  a  young  woman  died  on  the  cars  just 
as  they  were  entering  the  world-renowned  Creole  city. 
There  was  nothing  on  the  body  to  aid  identification,  and  a 
stranger's  grave  had  to  be  provided.  In  the  meantime  the 
friends  and  relatives  of  the  missing  girl  had  been  making 
every  effort  to  locate  her,  no  idea  having  occurred  to  them 
that  she  was  going  South.  A  loving  brother  finally  got 
hold  of  a  clew,  which  he  followed  up  so  successfully  that 
he  at  last  solved  the  mystery.  He  arrived  in  New  Orleans 
on  November  1st,  and  when  taken  out  to  the  grave  that  had 
been  provided  for  the  stranger  who  had  died  just  outside 
the  gates,  he  was  astounded  to  find  several  handsome 
bouquets  of  flowers,  with  wreaths  and  crosses,  lying  upon 
it.  Such  a  sight  could  hardly  have  been  met  with  in  any 
other  city  in  the  world,  and  too  much  can  hardly  be  said 
in  praise  of  the  sentiment  which  suggests  and  encourages 
such  disinterested  kindness  and  thought. 


fr 
AMONG    THE    CREOLES.  227 

The  cemetery  which  occupies  a  site  close  to  the  great 
battle-field,  is  always  specially  decorated,  and  crowds  go 
out  in  thousands  to  pay  tribute  to  honored  memories. 
Close  to  this  spot  there  is  a  monument  to  celebrate  the 
great  battle  during  which  General  Pakingham  was  shot, 
and  at  which  General  Jackson  galloped  excitedly  up  and 
down  the  lines,  and  almost  forced  the  men  on  to  victory. 
The  monument  has  not  received  the  care  which  it  deserves. 
More  than  half  a  century  ago  work  was  commenced  on  it, 
and  a  great  deal  was  accomplished.  But  after  a  year  or 
two  of  effort  the  project  was  abandoned  for  the  time,  and 
it  has  never  been  renewed.  In  the  long  interval  that  has 
ensued  the  roof  has,  in  a  large  measure,  disappeared,  as 
well  as  several  of  the  steps  leading  up  to  the  front. 
Hundreds  of  people  have  cut  their  names  in  the  stone 
work,  and  the  monument,  which  ought  to  be  preserved  in 
perpetuity,  looks  so  disreputable  that  little  regret  would 
be  caused  were  the  entire  fragment  to  be  swept  away  by 
some  unusually  heavy  gust  of  wind. 

More  than  1,500  soldiers  were  buried  in  the  Chal- 
mette  Cemetery  after  the  battle  referred  to.  Since  the  war 
it  has  been  well  nigh  forgotten,  but  several  duels  and 
affaires  d'honneur  have  been  settled  on  the  historic  spot. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  HEATHEN  CHINEE  IN  HIS  ELEMENT. 

A  Trip  to  Chinatown,  San  Francisco— A  House  with  a  History — 
Narrow  Alleys  and  Secret  Doors — Opium  Smoking  and  its  Effects — 
The  Highbinders— Celestial  Theatricals— Chinese  Festivals— The 
Brighter  Side  of  a  Great  City — A  Mammoth  Hotel  and  Beautiful 
Park. 

HINATOWN,  San  Francisco,  is  such  a  remarkable 
place,  and  contrasts  so  strangely  with  the  wealth 
and  civilization  of  the  great  city  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  of 
which  it  is  a  part,  that  its  peculiarities  cannot  be  ignored 
in  a  sketch  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  our  native 
land.  Writers  and  artists  have  for  years  made  this  blot 
on  San  Francisco's  splendor  the  subject  for  sarcasm  and 
cartoon,  and,  indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  handle  the  subject 
without  a  considerable  amount  of  severity.  Californians 
are  often  blamed  for  their  harshness  towards  the  Chinese, 
and  the  way  in  which  they  have  clamored  from  time  to 
time  for  more  stringent  exclusion  laws.  It  takes  a  trip  to 
Chinatown  to  make  it  clear  to  the  average  mortal  why  this 
feeling  is  so  general  in  San  Francisco,  and  why  it  extends 
throughout  the  entire  Pacific  Slope. 

There  are  about  25,000  Chinese  in  and  around 
San  Francisco.  A  small  proportion  of  these  have  aban- 
doned the  worst  features  of  their  race,  and  make 
themselves  comparatively  useful  as  domestic  servants.  In 
order  to  retain  their  positions  they  have  to  assimilate  them- 
selves more  or  less  to  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 

(228) 


THE  HEATHEN  CHINEE.  229 

country,  and  they  are  only  objectionable  in  certain  respects. 
But  the  one-time  dwellers  in  the  Celestial  Empire,  who 
make  their  homes  in  Chinatown,  have  very  few  redeeming 
qualities,  and  most  of  them  seem  to  have  no  tangible 
excuse  whatever  for  living. 

They  adhere  to  all  the  vices  and  uncivilized  habits  ot 
their  forefathers,  and  very  frequently  add  to  them  equally 
objectionable  vices  of  so-called  civilization.  At  one  time 
all  the  streets  in  Chinatown  were  little  more  than  elongated 
ash  pits  and  garbage  receptacles.  The  public  outcry  at 
length  became  so  vigorous  that  the  strong  hand  of  the  law 

O  O  O 

was  brought  to  bear,  and  now  the  principal  through  streets 
are  kept  fairly  clean.  The  side  streets  and  alleys  are, 
however,  still  in  a  deplorable  condition,  and  no  American 
or  European  could  possibly  live  many  days  in  such  filth 
without  being  stricken  with  a  terrible  disease.  The 
Mongolians,  however,  seem  to  thrive  under  conditions 
which  are  fatal  to  civilized  humanity.  They  live  to  quite 
the  average  age,  and  the  children  seem  to  be  very  healthy, 
if  not  conspicuously  happy. 

Chinatown  covers  an  area  of  about  eight  large  squares, 
in  the  very  heart  of  San  Francisco.  Again  and  again 
attempts  have  been  made  to  get  rid  of  the  drawback  and 
nuisance.  But  the  "Melica  Man"  has  allowed  himself  to 
be  outwitted  by  the  "Heathen  Chinee,"  who  has  secured 
property  rights  which  cannot  be  overcome  without  a  meas- 
ure of  confiscation,  which  would  appear  to  be  scarcely 
constitutional.  The  area  is  probably  one  of  the  most 
densely  populated  in  the  world.  The  Chinese  seem  to 
sleep  everywhere  and  anywhere,  and  the  houses  are  over- 
crowded to  an  extent  which  passes  all  belief.  It  is  known 
as  an  actual  fact,  that  in  rooms  twelve  feet  square  as  many 


230  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

as  twelve  human  beings  sleep  and  eat,  and  even  cook  what 
passes  with  them  for  food.  The  houses  themselves  are  so 
horrible  in  their  condition,  and  have  been  so  remodeled 
from  time  to  time,  to  meet  Celestial  ideas  and  fall  in  with 
notions  which  are  but  a  relic  of  barbarism,  that  not  even  a 
colored  man  of  the  most  degraded  type  can  be  persuaded 
to  live  permanently  in  a  house  which  has  ever  been  occu- 
pied by  an  unregenerated  denizen  of  Chinatown. 

At  the  entrance  to  this  peculiar,  and,  indeed,  disrepu- 
table quarter,  there  is  a  house  with  a  peculiar  history.  It 
was  built  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  by  a 
wealthy  banker,  who  selected  the  site  because  of  the  ad- 
mirable view  that  could  be  obtained  from  it  of  the  leading 
features  of  the  city.  He  spared  no  expense  in  its  erection, 
and  when  it  was  completed  he  was  able  to  gaze  from  the 
upper  windows  upon  some  of  the  most  beautiful  scenery 
in  the  world.  For  a  while  the  banker  lived  in  the  most 
magnificent  style,  and  earned  for  himself  a  reputation  as 
a  prince  of  entertainers.  He  spent  thousands  of  dollars  on 
entertainments,  and  appeared  to  have  everything  that  a 
human  being  could  desire.  His  end  was  a  tragic  one,  and 
it  has  never  been  ascertained  for  certain  whether  he  died 
by  his  own  hand,  or  by  the  hand  of  one  of  his  alleged 
friends  or  avowed  foes.  The  house  which  was  once  his 
great  pride  is  now  occupied  by  the  Chinese  Consul. 

It  is  still,  by  far,  the  finest  house  in  the  Chinese 
quarter.  The  moment  it  is  passed  the  sight-seeker  or 
shimmer  finds  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  horrible  collection 
of  Oriental  filth  and  squalor.  There  are  a  number  of 
stores  which  excite  his  contempt  the  moment  his  eyes  light 
upon  them.  They  are  chiefly  devoted  to  the  retailing  of 
such  food  as  the  occupants  of  Chinatown  delight  in,  «'ind 


THE  HEATHEN  CHINEE.  231 

over  many  of  them  the  Chinese  national  emblem  can  be 
seen  flying.  Fish  are  on  sale  in  large  numbers,  and  as 
they  are  kept  until  sold,  regardless  of  their  condition,  the 
effluvia  of  some  of  the  fish  markets  can  be  very  easily 
imagined.  Vegetables  also  form  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  daily  bills  of  fare,  and  these  add  materially  to  the 
malodorous  condition  of  the  neighborhood.  The  streets 
are  all  of  them  very  narrow,  and  there  are  also  a  number 
of  exceptionally  narrow  and  complicated  passages  and 
alleys,  which  have  been  the  scenes  of  crimes  innumerable 
in  days  gone  by. 

Some  of  these  alleys  are  but  three  or  four  feet  wide, 
and,  owing  to  their  almost  countless  turns  and  angles,  they 
afford  an  easy  means  for  the  escape  of  a  fugitive  who  is 
being  hunted  by  the  police,  or  by  one  of  those  blood-thirsty 
Chinese  societies  of  which  the  Highbinders  is  a  type.  One 
writer  who  has  investigated  the  matter  very  thoroughly, 
tells  us  that  most  of  the  houses  have  secret  doors  leading 
from  one  to  the  other  in  such  a  manner  that  if  a  fugitive 
should  determine  to  make  his  escape,  he  can  always  do  so 
by  means  of  these  secret  doors,  and  the  underground  pas- 
sages to  which  they  lead. 

The  stores,  workshops  and  other  apartments  are  gen- 
erally exceedingly  small,  and  the  proverbial  economy  of 
the  Chinaman  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  every  square  foot 
of  floor  space  and  ground  is  put  to  some  practical  use,  and 
one  finds  cobblers,  barbers,  fortune-tellers  and  a  multitude 
of  small  tradesmen  carrying  on  a  business  in  a  jog,  or 
niche  in  the  wall,  not  as  large  as  an  ordinary  boot- 
black's stand.  Along  the  narrow  sidewalks  are  seen  many 
of  these  curbstone  merchants.  Some  have  their  goods 
displayed  in  glass  show-cases,  ranged  along  the  wall,  where 


232  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

are  exhibited  queer-looking  fancy  articles  of  Chinese  work- 
manship, of  a  cheap  grade,  all  sorts  of  inexpensive  orna- 
ments for  women  and  children's  wear,  curiously  fashioned 
from  ivory,  bone,  beads,  glass  and  brass,  water  and  opium 
pipes  galore. 

The  opium  pipe  is  something  so  unlike  any  European 
conception  of  a  pipe  that  it  is  difficult  to  describe  it.  It 
consists  of  a  large  bamboo  tube  or  cylinder,  with  a  bowl 
about  midway  between  the  extremities.  The  bowl  is  some- 
times a  very  small  brass  plate,  and  sometimes  an  earthen 
cup-shaped  contrivance,  with  the  top  closed  or  decked 
over,  having  only  a  tiny  hole  in  the  center.  Into  this 
little  aperture  the  opium,  in  a  semi-liquid  state,  after  being 
well  melted  in  a  lamp  flame,  is  thrust  by  means  of  a  fine 
wire  or  needle.  The  drug  is  inserted  in  infinitesimal  quan- 
tities. It  is  said  that  all  the  Chinese  smoke  opium, 
although  all  do  not  indulge  to  excess.  Some  seem  to  be 
able  to  use  the  drug  without  its  gaining  the  mastery  over 
them. 

There  are  more  than  a  hundred  opium  dens  in  the  Chi- 
nese quarters.  These  places  are  used  for  no  other  purpose 
whatever  at  any  time.  If  it  were  the  Chinese  alone  who 
frequented  them,  but  little  would  be  thought  of  it.  Hun- 
dreds of  white  people,  men,  women  and  the  youth  of  both 
sexes,  have,  however,  become  victims  to  this  loathsome 
habit.  So  completely  enslaved  are  they,  that  there  is  no 
escape  from  the  tyrant.  For  all  the  poverty  and  untold 
misery  this  has  brought  upon  these  unfortunates,  the 
Chinese  are  responsible.  Vices  cluster  around  Chinese 
social  life,  and  nearly  every  house  has  its  opium-smoking 
apartment,  or  rooms  where  the  lottery  or  some  kind  of 
gambling  is  carried  on. 


The  Prettiest  Chinese  Woman  in  America. 


THE  HEATHEN  CHINEE.  235 

The  residents  of  Chinatown  have  a  government  of  their 
own,  with  its  social  and  economic  regulations,  and  its 
police  and  penal  department,  and  they  even  inflict  the 
death  penalty,  but  in  such  a  secret  way  that  the  outside 
world  seldom  hears  of  the^e  acts  of  high  authority.  This 
social  and  commercial  policy  is  controlled  by  six  companies, 
to  one  of  which  every  Chinaman  in  the  country  owes 
allegiance  and  is  tributary.  These  companies  severally 
represent  different  provinces  in  the  Chinese  Empire,  and 
upon  every  arrival  of  a  steamer  from  that  country,  and 
before  the  passengers  are  landed,  the  Chinese  portion  of 
them  are  visited  by  an  official  of  the  six  companies,  who 
ascertains  what  province  each  arriving  coolie  is  from.  That 
decides  as  to  which  company  he  will  belong. 

Every  Chinaman  who  comes  is  assured  of  his  return  to 
China,  or,  if  he  is  so  unfortunate  as  to  die  while  in  exile, 
that  his  bones  will  be  sent  home.  This  very  important 
matter  is  one  of  the  duties  of  the  six  companies.  This 
comforting  assurance,  however,  is  not  shared  in  by  the 
women,  whom,  excepting  those  who  are  the  wives  of  men 
of  the  better  class,  are  brought  over  by  a  vile  class  of 
traders,  and  sold  as  chattels,  or  slaves,  having  no  relation 
to  the  six  companies. 

There  is  in  the  Chinese  quarters  a  ghastly  underground 
place,  where  the  bones  of  the  departed  are  conveyed,  after 
they  have  remained  a  certain  time  in  the  ground.  Here 
they  are  scraped,  cleaned  and  packed,  preparatory  to  their 
last  journey  back  to  the  fatherland,  and  their  final  resting 
place.  Among  the  Chinese  residents  of  San  Francisco 
there  are  comparatively  few  of  those  of  the  higher  class. 
The  difference  between  them  and  the  masses  is  very  pro- 
nounced, and  they  appreciate  the  difference  to  the  fullest 

14 


236  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

extent.  They  are  educated,  well-bred  gentlemen.  The 
coolie  and  lower  class  are  an  ignorant,  repulsive  and 
ill-mannered  people.  They  seem  to  be  mere  brutes,  and 
not  a  gleam  of  intelligence  is  apparent  in  their  dull, 
expressionless  faces. 

The  "Highbinders"  are  bound  together  by  solemn 
obligations,  and  are  the  instruments  used  by  other  China- 
men to  avenge  their  real  or  fancied  wrongs.  The  High- 
binders are  organized  into  lodges  or  tongs,  which  are 
engaged  in  constant  feuds  with  each  other.  They  wage 
open  warfare,  and  so  deadly  is  their  mutual  hatred,  that 
the  war  ceases  only  when  the  last  individual  who  has  come 
under  the  ban  of  a  rival  tong  has  been  sacrificed.  These 
feuds  resemble  the  vendettas  in  some  of  the  Southern 
States  of  Europe,  and  they  defy  all  efforts  of  the  police  to 
suppress  them.  Murders  are,  consequently,  frequent,  but 
it  is  next  to  impossible  to  identify  the  murderers,  and  if  a 
Chinaman  is  arrested  on  suspicion,  or  even  almost  positive 
evidence  of  guilt,  the  trial  uniformly  ends  in  a  failure  to 
convict. 

The  theatres  are,  to  the  visitor,  probably  the  most 
interesting  feature  of  the  Chinese  quarters.  A  few  years 
ago  there  were  several  of  these  playhouses,  but  the  number 
is  now  reduced  to  two.  The  charge  of  admission  is  25 
cents  or  50  cents. 

The  white  people  who,  out  of  curiosity,  attend  a  per- 
formance, generally  pay  more,  and  are  given  more  com- 
fortable seats  upon  the  stage.  The  stage  is  a  primitive 
affair.  It  boasts  of  no  curtain,  footlights  or  scenery  of 
any  kind. 

When,  during  the  progress  of  a  play,  a  man  is  killed, 
he  lies  upon  the  stage  until  the  scene  is  ended,  and  then 


THE  HE  AT  PIE  N  CHINEE.  237 

gets  up  and  walks  off.  Sometimes  an  attendant  will  bring 
in  and  place  under  his  head  a  small  wooden  pillow,  so  that 
the  dead  man  may  rest  more  comfortably.  After  an 
actor  has  been  beheaded,  he  has  been  known  to  pickup 
the  false  head  and  apostrophize  it  while  making  his  exit 
from  the  stage.  The  orchestra  is  at  the  back  of  the  stage. 
It  usually  consists  of  one  or  two  ear-splitting  flageolets  and 
a  system  of  gongs  and  tom-toms,  which  keep  up  an  infer- 
nal din  during  the  entire  performance. 

Chinese  plays  are  usually  historical,  and  vary  in  length 
from  a  few  hours  to  several  months.  The  costumes  are 
gorgeous  after  the  Chinese  ideas  of  splendor.  No  females 
are  allowed  on  the  stage  at  all,  young  men  with  falsetto 
voices  invariably  impersonating  the  women. 

The  restaurants  of  Chinatown  are  a  very  unsatisfactory 
feature  of  the  unsavory  quarter.  Many  of  the  laborers 
board  at  them,  and  the  smaller  ones  are  nothing  in  the 
world  but  miserable  little  chop-houses,  badly  ventilated 
and  exceedingly  objectionable,  and,  indeed,  injurious  to 
health  and  good  morals.  There  are  larger  restaurants, 
which  are  more  expensively  equipped.  Shakespeare's 
advice  as  to  neatness  without  gaudiness  is  not  followed. 

O 

There  is  always  a  profusion  of  color  in  decoration,  but 
there  is  never  anything  like  symmetry  or  beauty. 

There  are  an  immense  number  of  joss-houses  in  China- 
town. Each  company  has  one  of  its  own.  Others  belong 
to  the  societies,  tongs  and  to  private  parties.  The 
appointments  of  these  temples  are  gorgeous  in  their  way. 
One  has  recently  been  opened  on  Waverly  Place,  which  far 
surpasses  all  the  others  in  the  grandeur  of  its  sacred  equip- 
ments and  decoration.  The  idols,  bronzes,  carvings,  bells, 
banners  and  the  paraphernalia  of  the  temple  are  said  to 


238  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

have  cost  about  $20,000,  and  represents  the  highest  degree 
of  Chinese  art.  In  front  of  the  throne  in  each  of  these 
temples,  where  the  principal  god  is  seated,  burns  a  sacred 
flame  that  is  never  extinguished.  In  a  cabinet  at  the  right 
of  the  entrance  is  a  small  image  called  "the  doorkeeper," 
who  sees  that  no  harm  befalls  the  temple  of  those  who 
enter. 

The  temple  doors  are  always  open,  and  those  who  are 
religiously  inclined  can  come  in  at  any  hour  of  the  day. 
Prayers  are  written  or  printed  on  red  or  blue  paper. 
These  are  lighted  and  deposited  in  a  sort  of  furnace  with 
an  opening  near  the  top,  and  as  the  smoke  ascends  the 
bell  near  by  is  sounded  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
gods.  The  women  have  a  favorite  method  of  telling  their 
fortunes.  They  kneel  before  the  altar,  holding  in  either 
hand  a  small  wooden  block,  about  five  inches  long,  which 
resembles  a  split  banana.  These  they  raise  to  their  closed 
eyes,  bow  the  head  and  drop.  If  they  fall  in  a  certain 
position,  it  is  an  indication  that  the  wish  or  prayer  will  be 
granted.  If  they  fall  in  an  unfavorable  position,  they  con- 
tinue the  effort  until  the  blocks  fall  as  desired.  When 
business  is  dull  and  times  hard  with  the  Chinaman,  they 
attribute  it  to  the  displeasure  of  their  gods.  They  try  to 
propitiate  the  offended  deity  by  burning  incense  sticks, 
and  offering  fruits  and  other  things  which  have  no  Chris- 
tian equivalent,  and  which  are  supposed  to  be  grateful  to 
the  divine  palate. 

The  Chinese  observe  a  great  many  holidays.  The  most 
important  are  those  of  the  New  Year.  This  is  a  movable 
feast,  and  occurs  between  the  21st  of  January  and  the  19th 
of  February.  The  New  Year  must  fall  on  the  first  new  moon 
after  the  sun  has  entered  Aquarius.  It  is  customary  at 


THE  HEATHEN  CHINEE.  239 

this  time  to  have  all  business  straightened  out,  and  all  debts 
contracted  during  the  year  paid.  Unless  this  is  done,  they 
will  have  no  credit  during  the  year,  and  consequently  a 
great  effort  is  made  to  pay  their  creditors.  There  are 
some,  however,  who  have  been  unfortunate  and  have  laid 
by  nothing  for  this  day  of  settlement,  and  knowing  well 
that  there  are  a  number  of  those  troublesome  little  bills 
that  are  liable  to  be  presented  at  any  time,  they  keep  them- 
selves out  of  sight  until  the  sun  has  risen  upon  the  New 
Year. 

They  then  reappear  in  their  accustomed  haunts,  feeling 
safe  for  a  few  days  at  least,  for  while  the  merry-making 
is  going  on  there  is  no  danger  of  being  confronted  with  a 
dun.  All  gloomy  subjects  are  tabooed,  and  everybody 
devotes  himself  to  getting  all  the  enjoyment  he  possibly 
can  out  of  this  festal  day.  To  some  this  is  the  only  holiday 
in  the  whole  year,  and  they  are  obliged  to  return  to  their 
labors  the  following  day.  Others  will  celebrate  three  or 
four  days,  and  so  on  up  the  scale.  The  rich  and  the 
independent  keep  it  up  for  fully  two  weeks,  and  begin  to 
settle  down  to  everyday  life  about  the  sixteenth  day.  . 

The  night  preceding  New  Year's  day  is  spent  in  religious 
ceremonies  at  the  temples  or  at  home.  Out  of  doors  the 
air  is  filled  with  the  smoke  and  roar  of  exploding  fire- 
crackers. But  when  the  clock  has  tolled  the  death  of  the 
old  and  announced  the  birth  of  the  New  Year,  one  would 
think  that  Pandemonium  was  let  loose.  Unless  one  has 
heard  it,  no  idea  can  be  formed  as  to  what  this  unearthly 
noise  really  is.  We  are  told  it  is  to  frighten  away  evil 
spirits,  to  invoke  the  favor  of  the  gods,  to  bid,  as  they 
fondly  hope,  a  final  farewell  to  ill-luck;  and,  again,  simply 
because  they  are  happy,  and  when  in  this  frame  of  mind, 


240  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

they  love  to  manifest  tbeir  joy  in  noisy  demonstrations. 
A  certain  time  in  the  early  morning  is  spent  in  worship  at 
the  shrines  at  home  and  in  the  temples.  They  place  before 
their  sacred  images,  offerings  of  tea,  wine,  rice,  fruits  and 
flowers.  The  Chinese  lily  is  in  full  bloom  at  this  season, 
I  and  it  occupies  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  joss-houses.  It 
is  for  sale  on  every  street  corner. 

The  day  is  spent  in  feasting,  pleasure  seeking,  and  in 
making  New  Year's  calls.  The  Chinamen  are  always 
greatly  pleased  to  receive  calls  from  white  men  with  whom 
they  have  business  dealings,  and  they  exhibit  their  cards 
with  much  pride.  They  are  very  punctilious  and  even 
rival  the  Frenchmen  in  politeness,  and  it  is  considered  an 
offense  if  any  of  their  proffered  hospitalities  are  declined. 

But  while  Chinatown  is  the  most  extraordinary  feature 
of  San  Francisco,  and  is  visited  by  tourists  who  naturally 
look  upon  it  somewhat  in  the  light  of  forbidden  and  hence 
exceptionally  attractive  fruit,  it  is  not  by  any  means  the 
most  interesting  or  most  important  feature  of  one  of  the 
finest  cities  in  the  world.  San  Francisco  is  the  metropolis 
of  the  Pacific  Slope.  It  occupies  the  point  of  a  long 
peninsula  between  the  bay  and  the  ocean,  and  so  unique  is 
its  site  that  it  includes  some  magnificent  hills  and  peaks. 
The  history  of  San  Francisco  bristles  with  border  and  gold 
mine  stories  and  tales  of  the  early  troubles  of  pioneers. 
Whole  pages  could  be  written  concerning  the  adventures  of 
the  early  days  of  this  remarkable  city.  The  time  was 
when  a  few  frame  buildings  constituted  the  entire  town. 
The  rush  of  speculators  following  discovery  after  discovery 
of  gold,  converted  the  quiet  little  port  into  a  scene  of 
turmoil  and  disturbance. 

Every  ship  brought  with  it  a  cargo   of  more  or  less 


THE  HEATHEN  CHINEE.  241 

desperate  men,  who  had  come  from  various  points  of  the 
compass  determined  to  obtain  a  lion's  share  of  the  gold 
which  they  had  been  told  could  be  had  for  the  taking. 
The  value  of  commodities  went  up  like  sky-rockets.  The 
man  who  had  a  few  spare  mules  and  wagons  on  hand  was 
able  to  realize  ten  times  the  price  that  was  tendered  for 
them  before  the  boom.  Many  men  who  were  thus  situated 
did  not  consider  it  advisable  to  throw  away  their  chances 
by  accepting  grave  risks  in  search  of  gold,  and  many  who 
stayed  at  home  and  supplied  the  wants  of  those  who  went 
up  country  realized  handsome  competences,  and  in  some 
cases  small  fortunes. 

That  there  was  a  good  deal  of  lawlessness  and  violence 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  It  has  been  said  that  for  every 
bona  fide  miner  there  was  at  least  one  hanger-on  or  camp 
follower,  who  had  no  intention  of  doing  any  digging  or 
washing,  but  who  was  smart  enough  to  realize  that  a  verit- 
able thief's  paradise  would  be  built  up  by  the  hard 
workers.  Sometimes  these  men  went  to  the  trouble  of 
digging  tunnels  under  the  ground  and  into  the  tents  of 
successful  miners,  frequently  passing  through  rich  deposits 
of  gold  on  the  way.  At  other  times  they  waylaid  wagons 
and  coaches  coming  into  San  Francisco  from  the  mining 
camps.  History  tells  us  of  the  fights  which  ensued,  and 
we  have  all  heard  of  the  successful  miners  who  were 
murdered  while  asleep  at  half-way  houses,  and  the  result 
of  their  hard  toil  turned  to  base  uses  and  vicious  purposes. 

In  San  Francisco  itself  robbery  and  violence  could  not 
be  suppressed.  We  have  all  heard  of  the  way  in  which 
the  decent  element  finally  got  together,  formed  special 
laws  and  executed  offenders  in  short  order.  No  one  of 
course  approves  lynch  law  in  the  abstract,  but  when  the 


242  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

circumstances  of  the  case  are  taken  into  consideration,  it 
is  difficult  to  condemn  very  severely  the  men  who  made  it 
possible  for  San  Francisco  to  become  a  great  and  honored 
city . 

The  population  of  San  Francisco  to-day  is  about  a  third 
of  a  million.  A  greater  portion  of  its  growth  has  been  during 
the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  and  it  was  the  first  city  in 
this  country  to  lay  cable  conduits  and  adopt  a  system  of 
cable  cars.  For  several  years  it  had  practically  a  monopoly 
in  this  mode  of  street  transportation,  and,  although  elec- 
tricity has  since  provided  an  even  more  convenient  motive 
power,  San  Francisco  will  always  be  entitled  to  credit  for 
the  admirable  missionary  work  it  did  in  this  direction.  At 
the  present  time,  almost  every  portion  of  the  city  and  its 
beautiful  parks  can  be  reached  easily  by  a  system  of 
transportation  as  comfortable  and  rapid  as  it  is  inexpensive. 

Among  the  wonders  of  San  Francisco  must  be  men- 
tioned the  Palace  Hotel,  a  structure  of  immense  magnitude 
and  probably  two  or  three  times  as  large  as  the  average 
Eastern  man  imagines.  The  site  of  the  hotel  covers  a  space 
of  more  than  an  acre  and  a  half,  and  several  million  dollars 
were  spent  on  this  structure.  Everything  is  magnificent, 
expansive,  huge  and  massive.  The  building  itself  is  seven 
stories  high,  and  in  its  center,  forming  what  may  be  de- 
scribed as  the  grandest  enclosed  court  in  the  world,  is  a 
circular  space  144  feet  across  and  roofed  in  with  glass  at  a 
great  height.  Carriages  are  driven  into  this  enclosure, 
and,  in  the  nearest  approach  to  severe  weather  known  in 
San  Francisco,  guests  can  alight  practically  indoors. 

There  are  nearly  800  bed-rooms,  all  of  them  large  and 
lofty,  and  the  general  style  of  architecture  is  more  than 
massive.  The  foundation  walls  are  12  feet  thick,  and 


THE  HEATHEN  CHINEE.  243 

31,000,000  brick  were  used  above  them.  The  skeleton  of 
wrought  iron  bands,  upon  which  the  brick  and  stone  work 
is  constructed,  weighs  more  than  3,000  tons.  Four  artesian 
wells  supply  pure  water  to  the  house,  which  is  not  only 
one  of  the  largest  hotels  in  the  world,  but  also  one  of  the 
most  complete  and  independent  in  its  arrangements. 

A  pleasant  ride  of  nearly  four  miles  in  length  brings 
the  rider  to  Golden  Gate  Park.  The  Golden  Gate,  from 
which  the  park  takes  its  name,  is  one  of  the  world's 
beauty  spots,  and  here  some  of  the  most  exquisite  sunsets 
ever  witnessed  can  be  seen.  The  Gate  is  the  entrance  from 
the  Pacific  Ocean  to  San  Francisco  Bay,  which  varies  in 
width  from  ten  to  fifteen  miles.  At  the  Gate  the  width  is 
suddenly  reduced  to  less  than  a  mile,  and  hence  at  ebb  and 
ilow  the  current  is  very  swift.  Near  the  Gate  sea  lions  can 
be  seen  gamboling  in  the  surf,  and  the  waves  can  be 
observed  striking  on  the  rocks  and  boulders,  and  sending 
up  spray  of  foamy  whiteness  to  a  height  of  a  hundred  feet. 

Golden  Gate  Park  is  like  everything  else  on  the  Pacific 
'Coast,  immense  and  wonderful.  It  is  not  the  largest  park 
in  the  world,  but  it  ranks  amongst  the  most  extensive.  Its 
acreage  exceeds  a  thousand,  and  it  is  difficult  to  appreciate 
the  fact  that  the  richly  cultivated  ground  through  which 
the  tourist  is  driven  has  been  reclaimed  from  the  ocean, 
and  was  but  once  little  more  than  a  succession  of  sand  bars 
and  dunes. 

When  the  reader  goes  to  San  Francisco,  as  we  hope  he 
will  go  some  day,  if  he  has  not  already  visited  it,  he  will 
be  told  within  a  few  minutes  of  his  entering  the  city,  that 
he  has  at  least  reached  what  may  be  fairly  termed  God's 
country.  Of  the  glorious  climate  of  California  he  will 
hear  much  at  every  step,  and  before  he  has  been  in  the  city 


244  J/F  NATIVE  LAND. 

many  diiys,  he  will  wonder  how  he  is  to  get  out  of  it  alive 
if  he  is  to  see  but  a  fraction  of  the  wonderful  sights  to 
which  his  attention  is  called. 

California  is  frequently  spoken  of  as  the  Golden  State. 
The  name  California  was  given  to  the  territory  com- 
prising the  State  and  Lower  California  as  long  ago  as 
1510,  when  a  Spanish  novelist,  either  in  fancy  or  prophecy, 
wrote  concerning  "the  great  land  of  California,  where  an 
abundance  of  gold  and  precious  stones  are  found."  In 
1848,  California  proper  was  ceded  to  the  United  States, 
and  in  the  same  year  the  discovery  of  gold  at  Colomo  put 
a  stop  to  the  peace  and  quiet  which  had  prevailed  on  the 
fertile  plains,  the  unexplored  mountains  and  the  attractive 
valleys.  Shortly  after,  a  hundred  thousand  men  rushed 
into  the  State,  and  for  the  first  few  years  as  many  as  a 
hundred  thousand  miners  were  kept  steadily  at  work. 

It  was  in  1856  that  the  famous  Vigilance  Committee  was 
formed.  In  the  month  of  May  of  that  year  murderers 
were  taken  from  jail  and  executed,  the  result  being  that 
the  Governor  declared  San  Francisco  to  be  in  a  state  of 
insurrection.  The  Vigilance  Committee  gained  almost 
sovereign  power,  and  before  it  disbanded  in  August,  it  had 
a  parade  in  which  over  5,000  armed,  disciplined  men  took 
part. 

Two  years  later,  the  overland  mail  commenced  its 
journeys  and  the  celebrated  pony  express  followed  in  I860. 
Railroads  followed  soon  after,  and  instead  of  being  a  prac- 
tically unknown  country,  several  weeks7  journey  from  the 
old  established  cities,  the  lightning  express  has  brought 
the  Pacific  so  near  to  the  Atlantic  that  time  and  space 
seem  to  have  been  almost  annihilated. 


CHAPTEK  XIV. 

BEFORE  EMANCIPATION  AND  AFTER. 

First  Importation  of  Negro  Slaves  into  America — The  Original  Aboli- 
tionists— A  Colored  Enthusiast  and  a  Coward — Origin  of  the  word 
"Secession*' — John  Brown's  Fanaticism — Uncle  Tom's  Cabin — 
Faithful  unto  Death — George  Augustus  Sala  on  the  Negro  who 
Lingered  too  long  in  the  Mill  Pond. 

7j  HE  American  negro  is  such  a  distinct  character  that 
.^^  he  cannot  be  overlooked  in  a  work  of  this  nature. 
Some  people  think  he  is  wholly  bad,  and  that  although  he 
occasionally  assumes  a  virtue,  he  is  but  playing  a  part,  and 
playing  it  but  indifferently  well  at  that.  Others  place  him 
on  a  lofty  pedestal,  and  magnify  him  into  a  hero  and  a 
martyr. 

But  the  Afro- American ,  commonly  called  a  "  nigger" 
in  the  South,  is  neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  He  is  often 
as  worthless  as  the  " white  trash"  he  so  scornfully  de- 
spises, and  he  is  often  all  that  the  most  exacting  could 
expect,  when  his  surroundings  and  disadvantages  are  taken 
into  consideration.  Physiologists  tell  us  that  man  is  very 
largely  what  others  make  him,  many  going  so  far  as  to  say 
that  character  and  disposition  are  three  parts  hereditary 
and  one  part  environment.  If  this  is  so,  a  good  deal  of 
allowance  should  be  made.  It  is  less  than  300  years  since 
the  first  negroes  were  brought  over  to  this  country,  and  it 
is  but  little  more  than  thirty  years  since  slavery  was 
abolished.  Hence,  from  both  the  standpoints  of  descent 
and  environment,  the  negro  is  at  a  great  disadvantage,  and 
he  should  hardly  be  judged  by  the  common  standard. 

(245) 


246  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

It  was  in  the  year  1619  that  a  Dutch  ship  landed  a 
cargo  of  negroes  from  Guinea,  but  that  was  not  really  the 
first  case  of  slavery  in  this  country.  Prior  to  that  time 
paupers  and  criminals  from  the  old  world  had  voluntarily 
sold  themselves  into  a  species  of  subjection,  in  preference 
to  starvation  and  detention  in  their  own  land;  but  this 
landing  in  1619  seems  to  have  really  introduced  the  colored 
man  into  the  labor  world  and  market  of  America. 

We  need  not  trace  the  history  of  the  negro  as  a  slave 
nt  any  length.  That  he  was  occasionally  abused  goes  with- 
out saying,  but  that  his  condition  was  approximately  as 
bad  as  a  majority  of  writers  have  attempted  to  prove  is 
not  so  certain.  It  was  the  policy  of  the  slave  owner  to  get 
as  much  work  out  of  his  staff  as  he  possibly  could.  He 
knew  from  experience  that  the  powers  of  human  endurance 
were  necessarily  limited,  and  that  a  man  could  not  work 
satisfactorily  when  he  was  sick  or  hungry.  Hence,  even  on 
the  supposition  that  all  slave  owners  were  without  feeling, 
it  is  obvious  that  self-interest  must  have  impelled  them  to 
keep  the  negro  in  good  health,  and  to  prevent  him  from 
losing  strength  from  hardship  and  want. 

On  some  plantations  the  lot  of  the  slave  was  a  hard 
one,  but  on  others  there  was  very  little  complaining  or 
cause  for  complaint.  Thousands  of  slaves  were  better  off 
by  far  than  they  have  been  subsequent  to  liberation,  and  it 
is  a  fact  that  speaks  volumes  for  the  much  discussed  and 
criticized  slaveholders,  that  numbers  of  emancipated 
slaves  refused  to  accept  their  freedom,  while  many  more, 
who  went  away  delighted  at  the  removal  of  withstraint, 
came  back  of  their  own  option  very  soon  after,  and  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  resume  the  old  relations. 

The  average  negro  obeys,  literally  obeys,  the  divine  in- 


EMANCIPA  TION— Before  and  After.         247 

stniction  to  take  no  thought  for  the  morrow.  If  he  has  a 
good  dinner  in  the  oven  he  is  apt  to  forget  for  the  time 
being  that  there  is  such  a  meal  as  supper,  and  he  certainly 
does  not  give  even  a  passing  thought  to  the  fact  that  if  he 
has  no  breakfast  in  the  morning  he  will  be  "powerfu* 
hungry."  This  indifference  as  to  the  future  robbed 
slavery  of  much  of  its  hardship,  and  although  every  one 
condemns  the  idea  in  the  abstract,  there  are  many  humane 
men  and  women  who  do  not  think  the  colored  man  suf- 
fered half  as  much  as  has  so  often  and  so  emphatically 
been  stated. 

Abolition  was  advocated  with  inucfe  earnestness  for 
many  years  prior  to  Lincoln's  famous  emancipation  procla- 
mation. The  agitation  first  took  tangible  shape  during  the 
administration  of  General  Jackson,  a  man  who  received 
more  hero  worship  than  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  of  his 
successors.  To  a  zealous,  if  perhaps  bigoted,  Quaker  be- 
longs the  credit  of  having  started  the  work,  by  founding  a 
newspaper,  which  he  called  the  "Genius  of  Universal  Eman- 
cipation." William  Lloyd  Garrison,  subsequently  with 
"The  Liberator,"  was  connected  with  this  journal,  and  in  the 
first  issue  he  announced  as  his  programme,  war  to  the  death 
against  slavery  in  every  form.  "I  will  not  equivocate ;  I 
will  not  excuse;  I  will  not  retreat  a  single  inch,  and  I  will 
be  heard,"  was  the  announcement  with  which  he  opened 
the  campaign,  which  he  subsequently  carried  on  with  more 
conspicuous  vigor  than  success. 

Garrison  handled  the  question  of  the  relation  between 
the  white  and  colored  people  of  the  country  without 
gloves,  and  his  very  outspoken  language  occasionally  got 
him  into  trouble.  The  people  who  supported  him  were 
known  as  Abolitionists,  a  name  which  even  at  that  early 


248  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

date  conjured  up  hard  feeling,  and  divided  household 
against  household,  and  family  against  family.  Among 
these  Garrison  was  regarded  as  a  hero,  and  to  some  extent 
as  a  martyr,  while  the  bitterness  of  his  invective  earned  for 
him  the  title  of  fanatic  and  crank  from  the  thousands  who 
disagreed  with  him,  and  who  thought  he  was  advocating 
legislation  in  advance  of  public  sentiment. 

The  debates  of  the  days  of  which  we  are  speaking  were 
full  of  interest.  Many  of  the  arguments  advanced  teemed 
with  force.  The  Abolitionists  denounced  the  Republic  for 
inconsistency,  in  declaring  that  all  men  were  equal,  and 
then  keeping  3,frOO,000  colored  people  in  enforced  sub- 
jection. In  reply  the  Bible  was  freely  quoted  in  defense 
of  slavery,  and  the  fight  was  taken  up  by  ministers 
of  religion  with  much  zeal.  It  was  not,  by  any  means,  a 
sectional  question  at  that  time.  While  the  slaves  were 
owned  by  Southern  planters  and  landed  proprietors,  they 
were  purchased  and  kept  on  borrowed  capital,  and  many 
of  the  men  in  the  North,  who  were  supposed  to  sympathize 
with  the  Abolitionists,  were  as  much  interested  in  the  per- 
petuation of  slavery  as  those  who  actually  owned  the  slaves 
themselves. 

In  the  year  1831,  a  negro  named  Turner,  supported  by 
six  desperate  and  misguided  fellow  countrymen, 'started 
out  on  what  they  regarded  as  a  practical  crusade  against 
slavery.  Turner  professed  to  have  seen  visions  such  as 
inspired  Joan  of  Arc,  and  he  proceeded  to  fulfill  what  he 
regarded  as  his  divine  mission,  in  a  very  fanatical  manner. 
First,  the  white  man  who  owned  Turner  was  murdered, 
and  then  the  band  proceeded  to  kill  off  all  white  men  in 
sight  or  within  convenient  reach.  Within  two  days  nearly 
fifty  white  men  were  destroyed  by  those  avenging  angels, 


EM  AN  CIPA  TION— Before  and  After.         249 

as  they  were  called,  and  then  the  insurrection  or  crusade 
was  terminated  by  the  organizing  of  a  handful  of  white 
men  who  did  not  propose  to  be  sacrificed  as  had  been  their 
fellows. 

Turner's  bravery  was  great  when  there  was  no  resist- 
ance, but  he  recognized  that  discretion  was  the  better  part 
of  valor  the  moment  organized  resistance  was  offered. 
Taking  to  the  woods,  he  left  his  followers  to  shift  for 
themselves.  For  more  than  a  week  he  lived  on  what  he 
could  find  in  the  wheat  fields,  and  then,  coming  in  contact 
with  an  armed  white  man,  he  speedily  surrendered.  A 
week  later  he  was  hanged,  and  seventeen  other  colored 
men  suffered  a  like  penalty  for  connection  with  the  con- 
spiracy. The  murderous  outbreak  had  other  dire  results 
for  the  negro,  and  caused  many  innocent  men  to  be  sus- 
pected and  punished. 

A  year  later,  Garrison  started  the  New  England  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,  which  was  followed  by  many  similar 
organizations.  So  intense  did  the  feeling  become  that 
President  Jackson  thought  it  advisable  to  recommend 
legislation  excluding  Abolition  literature  from  the  mails. 
The  measure  was  finally  defeated,  but  in  the  Southern 
States,  particularly,  a  great  deal  of  mail  was  searched  and 
even  condemned.  Rewards  were  offered  in  some  of  the 
slave-holding  States  for  the  apprehension  of  some  of  the 
leading  Abolitionists,  and  feeling  ran  very  high,  every 
outbreak  being  laid  at  the  doors  of  the  men  who  were 
preaching  the  new  gospel  of  equal  rights,  regardless  of 
color. 

Mobs  frequently  took  a  hand  in  the  proceedings,  and 
several  men  were  attacked  and  arrested  on  very  flimsy 
pretexts.  In  1836,  the  Pennsylvania  Hall,  in  Philadelphia, 


250  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

was  burned,  because  it  had  been  dedicated  by  an  anti- 
slavery  meeting.  So  bitter  did  the  feeling  become  that 
every  attempt  to  open  schools  for  colored  children  was 
followed  by  disturbance,  the  teachers  being  driven  away 
and  the  books  destroyed.  Numerous  petitions  on  the  sub- 
ject were  sent  to  Congress,  and  there  was  an  uproar  in  the 
House  when  it  was  proposed  to  refer  a  petition  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  to  a  com- 
mittee. The  Southern  Congressmen  withdrew  from  the 
House  as  a  formal  protest,  and  the  word  "secession," 
which  was  subsequently  to  acquire  such  a  much  more  sig- 
nificant meaning,  was  first  applied  to  this  action  on  their 
part. 

A  compromise,  however,  was  effected,  and  the  seceding 
members  took  their  seats  on  the  following  day.  Feeling, 
however,  ran  very  high.  Some  people  returned  fugitive 
slaves  to  their  owners,  while  others  established  what  was 
then  known  as  the  underground  railway.  This  was  a  com- 
bination between  Abolitionists  in  various  parts,  and 
involved  the  feeding  and  housing  of  slaves,  who  were 
passed  on  from  house  to  house  and  helped  on  their  road  to 
Canada.  Much  excitement  was  caused  in  1841  by  the  ship 
"Creole,"  which  sailed  from  Eichmond  with  a  cargo  of  135 
slaves  from  the  Virginia  plantation.  Near  the  Bahama 
Islands  one  of  the  slaves  named  Washington,  as  by  the 
way  a  good  many  thousand  slaves  were  named  from  time 
to  time,  headed  a  rebellion.  The  slaves  succeeded  in  over- 
powering the  crew  and  in  confining  the  captain  and  the  white 
passengers.  They  forced  the  captain  to  take  the  boat  to 
New  Providence,  where  all  except  the  actual  members  of 
the  rebelling  crowd  were  declared  free. 

Joshua  Giddings,  of  Ohio,  offered  a  resolution  in  the 


Yellowstone  Falls. 


EMANCIPATION— Before  and  After.         253 

House  of  Representatives  claiming  that  every  man  who 
had  been  a  slave  in  the  United  States  was  free  the  moment 
he  crossed  the  boundary  of  some  other  country.  The  way 
in  wrhich  this  resolution  was  received  led  to  the  resignation 

o 

of  Mr.  Giddings.  He  offered  himself  for  re-election,  and 
was  sent  back  to  Congress  by  an  enormous  majority.  As 
Ohio  had  been  very  bitter  in  its  anti-negro  demonstrations, 
the  vote  was  regarded  as  very  significant.  The  Supreme 
Court  decided  differently  from  the  people,  and  a  ruling 
was  handed  down  to  the  effect  that  fugitive  slaves  were 
liable  to  re-capture.  The  court  held  that  the  law  as  to 
slavery  was  paramount  in  free  as  well  as  slave  States,  and 
that  every  law-abiding  citizen  must  recognize  these  rights 
and  not  interfere  with  them.  Feeling  became  very  intense 
after  this,  and  for  a  time  it  threatened  to  extend  far  beyond 
rational  limits.  In  the  church  the  controversy  waxed 
warm,  and  in  more  than  one  instance  division  as  well  as 
dissension  arose. 

In  1858,  a  new  phase  was  given  to  the  controversy  by 
John  Brown.  Every  one  has  heard  of  this  remarkable 
man,  who  was  regarded  by  some  as  a  martyr,  and  by  others 
as  a  dangerous  crank.  As  one  writer  very  aptly  puts  it, 
John  Brown  was  both  the  one  and  the  other.  That  his 
intentions  were  in  the  main  good,  few  doubt,  but  his  meth- 
ods were  open  to  the  gravest  censure,  and  according  to 
some  deep  thinkers  he  was,  in  a  large  degree,  responsible 
for  the  bitter  feeling  which  made  war  between  the  North 
and  the  South  inevitable.  Probably  this  is  giving  undue 
importance  to  this  much-discussed  enthusiast,  who  re- 
garded himself  as  a  divine  messenger  sent  to  liberate  the 
slaves  and  punish  the  slave-holders. 

He  conceived  the  idea  of  rallying  all  the  colored  people 

la 


254  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

around  him  in  the  impregnable  mountains  of  Virginia,  and 
having  drafted  a  constitution,  he  proceeded  to  unfurl  his 
flag  and  call  out  his  supporters.  In  October,  1859,  he 
took  possession  of  the  United  States  Armory  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  interfered  with  the  running  of  trains,  and  practi- 
cally held  the  town  with  a  force  of  some  eighteen  men, 
of  whom  four  were  colored.  Colonel  Robert  E.  Lee 
quickly  came  on  the  scene  with  a  detachment  of  troops  and 
drove  the  Brown  following  into  an  engine-house.  They 
declined  to  surrender,  and  thirteen  were  either  killed  or 
mortally  wounded.  Two  of  Brown's  sons  were  among 
those  who  fell,  and  the  leader  himself  was  captured.  He 
treated  his  trial  with  the  utmost  indifference,  and  went  to 
the  scaffold  erect  and  apparently  unconcerned.  His  body 
was  taken  to  his  old  home  in  New  York  State,  where  it  wTas 
buried. 

Abraham  Lincoln  must  not  be  included  in  the  list  of 
enthusiastic  Abolitionists,  although  he  eventually  freed  the 
slaves.  In  speeches  made  prior  to  the  war  he  expressed 
the  opinion  that  in  slave  States  general  emancipation  would 
be  ill-advised,  and  although  his  election  was  looked  upon  as 
dangerous  to  slave-holders'  interests,  the  fear  seems  to  have 
been  prophetic  in  a  large  measure.  It  was  not  until  the 
war  had  lasted  far  longer  than  originally  anticipated  that 
Lincoln  definitely  threatened  to  liberate  the  colored  slaves. 
That  threat  he  carried  into  execution  on  January  1st,  1863, 
when  3,000,000  slaves  became  free.  The  cause  of  the 
Confederacy  had  not  yet  become  the  '*  lost  cause,"  and 
the  leaders  on  the  Southern  side  were  inclined  to  ridicule 
the  decree,  and  to  regard  it  rather  as  a  "  bluff  "  than  any- 
thing of  a  serious  order.  But  it  was  emancipation  in  fact  a& 
well  as  in  deed,  as  the  colored  orator  never  tired  of  explaining. 


EMANCIPA  TIGS'— Before  and  After.         255 

Such  in  outline  is  the  history  of  the  colored  man  during 
the  days  of  enforced  servitude.  Of  his  condition  during 
that  period  volumes  have  been  written.  Few  works 
printed  in  the  English  language  have  been  more  widely 
circulated  than  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  which  has  been  read 
in  every  English-speaking  country  in  the  world,  and  in 
many  other  countries  besides.  It  has  been  dramatized  and 
performed  upon  thousands  of  stages  before  audiences  of 
every  rank  and  class.  As  a  descriptive  work  it  rivals  in 
many  passages  the  very  best  ever  written.  Much  con- 
troversy has  taken  place  as  to  how  much  of  the  book  is 
history — how  much  of  it  is  founded  upon  fact  and  how 
much  is  pure  fiction.  The  ground  is  a  rather  dangerous 
one  to  touch.  It  is  safest  to  say  that  while  the  brutality 
held  up  to  scorn  and  contempt  in  this  book  was  not  general 
in  the  slave  States  or  on  plantations  in  the  South,  what  is 
depicted  might  have  taken  place  under  existing  laws,  and 
the  book  exposed  iniquities  which  were  certainly  perpe- 
trated in  isolated  cases. 

That  all  negroes  were  not  treated  badly,  or  that  slavery 
invariably  meant  misery,  can  be  easily  proved  by  any  one 
who  takes  the  trouble  to  investigate,  even  in  the  most 
superficial  manner.  When  the  news  of  emancipation  grad- 
ually spread  through  the  remote  regions  of  the  South, 
there  were  hundreds  and  probably  thousands  of  negroes 
who  declined  absolutely  to  take  advantage  of  the  freedom 
given  them.  Many  most  pathetic  cases  of  devotion  and 
love  were  made  manifest.  Even  to-day  there  are  numbers 
of  aged  colored  men  and  women  who  are  remaining  with 
their  old-time  owners  and  declining  to  regard  emancipation 
as  logical  or  reasonable. 

Not  long  ago,  a  Northern  writer  while  traveling  through 


256  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

the  South  found  an  aged  negro,  whom  he  approached  with 
a  view  to  getting  some  interesting  passages  of  local  history. 
To  his  surprise  he  found  that  the  old  man  had  but  one 
idea.  That  idea  was  that  it  was  his  duty  to  take  care  of 
and  preserve  his  old  master's  grave.  When  the  war  broke 
out,  the  old  hero  was  the  body-servant  or  valet  of  a  man, 
who,  from  the  very  first,  was  in  the  thick  of  the  fight 

against  the  North.     The  colored  man  followed  his  soldier- 

o 

master  from  place  to  place,  and  when  a  Northern  bullet 
put  an  end  to  the  career  of  the  master,  the  servant  rever- 
ently conveyed  the  body  back  to  the  old  home,  superin- 
tended the  interment,  and  commenced  a  daily  routine  of 
watching,  which  for  more  than  thirty  years  he  had  never 
varied. 

All  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  had  left  the  neighbor- 
hood years  before,  and  the  faithful  old  negro  was  the  only 
one  left  to  watch  over  the  grave  and  keep  the  flowers  that 
were  growing  on  it  in  good  condition.  As  far  as  could  be 
learned  from  local  gossip,  the  old  fellow  had  no  visible  means 
of  subsistence,  securing  what  little  he  needed  to  eat  in 
exchange  for  odd  jobs  around  neighboring  houses.  No 
one  seemed  to  know  where  he  slept,  or  seemed  to  regard 
the  matter  as  of  any  consequence.  There  was  about  the 
jet  black  hero,  however,  an  air  of  absolute  happiness, 
added  to  an  obvious  sense  of  pride  at  the  performance  of 
his  self-imposed  and  very  loving  task. 

Instances  of  this  kind  could  be  mutiplied  almost  with- 
out end.  The  negro  as  a  free  man  and  citizen  retains 
many  of  the  most  prominent  characteristics  which  marked 
his  career  in  the  days  before  the  war.  Now  and  again  one 
hears  of  a  negro  committing  suicide.  Such  an  event,  how- 
ever, is  almost  as  rare  as  resignation,  of  an  office-holder  or 


EMANCIPA  TION—  Before  and  After.          25  7 

the  death  of  an  annuitant.  Indifference  to  suffering  and 
a  keen  appreciation  of  pleasure,  make  prolonged  grief  very 
unusual  among  Afro-Americans,  and  in  consequence  their 
lives  are  comparatively  joyous. 

One  has  to  go  down  South  to  appreciate  the  colored 
man  as  he  really  is.  In  the  North  he  is  apt  to  imitate  the 
white  man  so  much  that  he  loses  his  unique  personality. 
In  the  Southern  States,  however,  he  can  be  found  in  all  his 
original  glory.  Here  he  can  be  regarded  as  a  survival  of 
preceding  generations.  In  the  South,  before  the  war,  the 
truism  that  there  is  dignity  in  toil  was  scarcely  appreciated 
at  its  full  worth.  The  negro  understood,  as  if  by  instinct, 
that  he  ought  to  work  for  his  white  master,  and  that  duties 
of  every  kind  in  the  field,  on  the  road  and  in  the  house, 
should  be  performed  by  him.  For  a  white  man  who 
worked  he  entertained  feelings  in  which  there  was  a  little 
pity  and  a  great  deal  of  contempt.  He  has  never  got  over 
this  feeling,  or  the  feeling  which  his  father  before  him  had. 
Down  South  to-day  the  expression  "  po'  white  trash''  is 
still  full  of  meaning,  and  the  words  are  uttered  by  the 
thick-lipped,  woolly -headed  critics  with  an  emphasis  and 
expression  the  very  best  white  mimic  has  never  yet  suc- 
ceeded in  reproducing. 

George  Augustus  Sala,  one  of  England's  oldest  and 
most  successful  descriptive  writers,  talks  very  entertaining- 
ly regarding  the  emancipated  slave.  The  first  trip  made 
to  this  country  by  the  versatile  writer  referred  to  was  dur- 
ing the  war. 

He  returned  home  full  of  prejudices,  and  wrote 
up  the  country  in  that  supercilious  manner  European 
writers  are  too  apt  to  adopt  in  regard  to  America.  Several 
years  later  he  made  his  second  trip,  and  his  experiences,  as 


258  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

recorded  in  "America  Revisited,"  are  much  better  reading, 
and  much  freer  from  prejudice. 

"For  full  five  and  thirty  years/'  he  writes,  "had 
I  been  waiting  to  see  the  negro  *  standing  in  the 
mill  pond.'  I  saw  him  in  all  his  glory  and  all 
his  driving  wretchedness  at  Guinneys,  in  the  State 
of  Virginia.  I  own  that  for  some  days  past  the  potential 
African,  *  standin'  in  de  mill  pond  longer  than  he  oughter' 
had  been  lying  somewhat  heavily  on  my  conscience.  My 
acquaintance  with  our  dark  brethren  since  arriving  in  this 
country  had  not  only  been  necessarily  limited,  but  scarcely 
of  a  nature  to  give  me  any  practical  insight  into  his  real 
condition  since  he  has  been  a  free  man — free  to  work  or 
starve ;  free  to  become  a  good  citizen  or  go  to  the  devil, 
as  he  has  gone,  mundanely  speaking,  in  Hayti  and  else- 
where. Colored  folks  are  few  and  far  between  in  New 
York,  and  they  have  never,  as  a  rule,  been  slaves,  and  are 
not  even  generally  of  servile  extraction.  In  Philadelphia 
they  are  much  more  numerous.  Many  of  the  mulatto 
waiters  employed  in  the  hotels  are  strikingly  handsome 
men,  and  on  the  whole  the  sable  sons  of  Pennsylvania 
struck  me  as  being  industrious,  well  dressed,  prosperous, 
and  a  trifle  haughty  in  their  intercourse  with  white  folks. 

"  In  Baltimore,  where  slavery  existed  until  the  promul- 
gation of  Lincoln's  proclamation,  the  colored  people  are 
plentiful.  I  met  a  good  many  ragged,  shiftless,  and  gen- 
erally dejected  negroes  of  both  sexes,  who  appeared  to  be 
just  the  kind  of  waifs  and  strays  who  would  stand  in  a  mill 
pond  longer  than  they  ought  to  in  the  event  of  there  being 
any  convenient  mill  pond  at  hand.  But  the  better  class 
darkeys,  who  have  been  domestic  slaves  in  Baltimore  fam- 
ilies, seemed  to  retain  all  their  own  affectionate  obsequious- 


EMANCIPATION— Before  and  After.         259 

ness  of  manner  and  respectful  familiarity.  Again,  in 
Washington,  the  black  man  and  his  congeners  seemed  to 
be  doing  remarkably  well.  At  one  of  the  quietest,  most 
elegant  and  most  comfortable  hotels  in  the  Federal  Capital, 
I  found  the  establishment  conducted  by  a  colored  man,  all 
of  whose  employes,  from  the  clerks  in  the  office  to  the 
waiters  and  chambermaids,  were  colored.  Our  chamber- 
maid was  a  delightful  old  lady,  and  insisted  ere  we  left  that 
we  should  give  her  a  receipt  for  a  real  old  English  Christ- 
mas plum  pudding. 

"But  these  were  not  the  mill  pond  folk  of  whom  I  was  in 
quest.  They  were  of  the  South,  as  an  Irishman  in  London 
is  of  Ireland,  but  not  in  it.  I  had  a  craving  to  see  whether 
any  of  the  social  ashes  of  slavery  lived  their  wonted  fires. 
Away  down  South  was  the  real  object  of  my  mission,  and 
in  pursuit  of  that  mission  I  went  on  to  Richmond." 

Mr.  Sala  proceeds  to  give  a  most  amusing  account  of 
his  ride  from  New  York  to  Richmond,  with  various  criti- 
cisms of  sleeping-car  accommodation,  heartily  endorsed  by 
all  American  travelers  who  have  read  them.  Arriving  at 
Richmond  he  asked  the  usual  question :  "  Is  not  the  negro 
idle,  thriftless  and  thievish?"  From  time  immemorial  it 
has  been  asserted  that  the  laws  of  meum  and  tuum  have 
no  meaning  for  the  colored  man.  It  is  a  joke  current  in 
more  than  one  American  city,  that  the  police  have  stand- 
ing orders  to  arrest  every  negro  seen  carrying  a  turkey  or 
a  chicken  along  the  street.  In  other  words,  the  funny  man 
would  have  us  believe  that  the  innate  love  of  poultry  in  the 
Ethiopian's  breast  is  so  great  that  the  chances  are  against 
his  having  been  possessed  of  sufficient  force  of  character 
to  pass  a  store  or  market  where  any  birds  were  exposed  for 
sale  and  not  watched. 


260  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

It  is  doubtless  a  libel  on  the  colored  race  to  state  that 
even  the  majority  of  its  members  are  chicken  thieves  by 
descent  rather  than  inclination,  just  as  it  is  a  libel  on  their 
religion  to  insinuate  that  a  colored  camp  meeting  is  almost 
certain  to  involve  severe  inroads  into  the  chicken  coops 
and  roosts  of  the  neighboring  farmers.  Certain  it  is, 
however,  that  chicken  stealing  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous 
causes  of  backsliding  on  the  part  of  colored  converts  and 
enthusiastic  singers  of  hymns  in  negro  churches.  The 
case  of  the  convert  who  was  asked  by  his  pastor,  a  week 
after  his  admission  to  the  church,  if  he  had  stolen 
a  chicken  since  his  conversion,  and  who  carefully  con- 
cealed a  stolen  duck  under  his  coat  while  he  assured  the 
good  man  that  he  had  not,  is  an  exaggerated  one  of  course, 
but  it  is  quoted  as  a  good  story  in  almost  every  State  and 
city  in  the  Union. 

Mr.  Sala  objects  very  much  to  judging  a  whole  class  of 
people  by  a  few  street-corner  or  cross-road  loungers.  The 
negro  he  found  to  be  superstitious,  just  as  we  find  them 
to-day.  Even  educated  negroes  are  apt  to  give  credence 
to  many  stories  which,  on  the  face  of  them,  appear  ridic- 
ulous. The  words  "Hoodoo"  and  "Mascot"  have  a 
meaning  among  these  people  of  which  we  have  only  a  dim 
conception,  and  when  sickness  enters  a  family  the  aid  of 
an  alleged  doctor,  who  is  often  a  charlatan  of  the  worst 
character,  is  apt  to  be  sought.  It  will  take  several  gener- 
ations to  work  out  this  characteristic,  and  perhaps  the 
greatest  complaint  the  colored  race  has  against  those  who 
formerly  held  them  in  subjection,  is  the  way  in  which 
voodoo  and  supernatural  stories  were  told  ignorant  slaves 
with  a  view  to  frightening  them  into  obedience,  and  incit- 
ing them  to  extra  exertions. 


EMANCIFA  TION— Before  and  After.          261 

For  absolute  ignorance  and  apparent  lack  of  human 
understanding,  the  negro  loafer  to  be  found  around  some 
of  our  Southern  towns  and  depots  may  be  quoted  as 
a  signal  and  quite  amusing  example.  The  hat,  as  Mr.  Sala 
humorously  puts  it,  resembles  an  inverted  coal  scuttle  or 
bucket  without  handles,  and  pierced  by  many  holes.  It 
is  something  like  the  bonnet  of  a  Brobdingnagian  Quaker- 
ess, huge  and  flapped  and  battered,  and  fearful  to  look 
upon. 

"Hang  all  this  equipment,"  this  interesting  writer 
goes  on  to  say,  "on  the  limbs  of  a  tall  negro  of  any  age 
between  sixteen  and  sixty,  and  then  let  him  stand  close  to 
the  scaffold-like  platform  of  the  depot  shanty  and  let  him 
loaf.  His  attitude  is  one  of  complete  and  apathetic  im- 
mobility. He  does  not  grin.  He  may  be  chewing,  but  ho 
does  not  smoke.  He  does  not  beg;  at  least  in  so  far  as  I 
observed  him  he  stood  in  no  posture  and  assumed  no  ges- 
tures belonging  to  the  mendicant.  He  looms  at  you  with  a 
dull,  stony,  preoccupied  gaze,  as  though  his  thoughts  were 
a  thousand  miles  away  in  the  unknown  land  ;  while  once 
in  every  quarter  of  an  hour  or  so  he  woke  up  to  a  momentary 
consciousness  that  he  was  a  thing  neither  rich  nor  rare, 
and  so  wondered  how  in  thunder  he  got  there.  He  is  a 
derelict,  a  fragment  of  flotsam  and  jetsam  cast  upon  the 
not  too  hospitable  shore  of  civilization  after  the  great 
storm  had  lashed  the  Southern  sea  to  frenzy  and  the  ship 
of  slavery  had  gone  to  pieces  forever.  Possibly  he  is  a 
good  deal  more  human  than  he  looks,  and  if  he  chose  to 
bestir  himself  and  to  address  himself  to  articulate  dis- 
course, could  tell  you  a  great  many  things  about  his  wants 
and  wishes,  his  views  and  feelings  on  things  in  general 
which,  to  you,  might  prove  little  more  than  amazing. 


262  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

As  things  go,  he  prefers  to  do  nothing  and  to  proffer  no 
kind  of  explanation  as  to  why  he  is  standing  there  in  a 
metaphorical  mill  pond  very  much  'longer  than  he 
oughter.'  ' 

One  turns  with  pleasure  from  the  severe,  but  perhaps 
not  overdrawn,  character  sketch  of  the  colored  loafer,  to 
the  better  side  of  the  modern  negro.  The  intense  desire 
for  education,  and  the  keen  recognition  of  the  fact  that 
knowledge  is  power,  point  to  a  time  when  utter  ignorance 
even  among  the  negroes  will  be  a  thing  of  the  past. 
Prejudice  is  hard  to  fight  against,  and  the  colored  man  has 
often  a  considerable  amount  of  handicap  to  overcome. 
But  just  as  Mr.  Sala  found  the  typical  negro,  "standing 
in  the  mill  pond  longer  than  he  oughter,"  a  sad  memento 
of  the  past,  so  the  traveler  can  find  many  an  intelligent 
and  entertaining  individual  whose  accent  betrays  his  color 
even  in  the  darkest  night,  but  whose  cute  expressions  and 
pleasant  reminiscences  go  a  long  way  towards  convincing 
even  the  sternest  critic  that  the  future  is  full  of  hope  for  a 
race  whose  past  has  in  it  so  little  that  is  either  pleasing  or 
satisfactory. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

OUR    NATIONAL    PARK. 

A  Delightful  Rhapsody — Early  History  of  Yellowstone  Park — A  Fish 
Story  which  Convulsed  Congress — The  First  White  Man  to  Visit 
the  Park — A  Race  for  Life— Philosophy  of  the  Hot  Springs — 
Mount  Everts— From  the  Geysers  to  Elk  Park — Some  Old  Friends 
and  New  Ones — Yellowstone  Lake — The  Angler's  Paradise. 

ELLOWSTONE  PARK  is  generally  included  in  the 
list  of  the  wonders  of  the  world.  It  is  certainly 
unique  in  every  respect,  and  no  other  nation,  modern  or 
ancient,  has  ever  been  able  to  boast  of  a  recreation  ground 
and  park  provided  by  nature  and  supplied  with  such  mag- 
nificent and  extraordinary  attractions  and  peculiarities.  It 
is  a  park  upon  a  mountain,  being  more  than  10,000 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Irregular  in  shape,  it  may 
be  said  to  be  about  sixty  miles  across  on  the  average,  and 
it  contains  an  area  of  3,500  square  miles. 

Mr.  Olin  D.  Wheeler,  in  an  admirable  treatise  on 
this  park,  in  which  he  describes  some  of  the  many  wonders 
in  the  marvelous  region  traversed  by  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad,  thus  rhapsodizes: 

"The  Yellowstone  Park!  The  gem  of  wonderland. 
The  land  of  mystic  splendor.  Region  of  bubbling  caldron 
and  boiling  pool  with  fretted  rims,  rivaling  the  coral  in  deli- 
cacy of  texture  and  the  rainbow  in  variety  of  color;  of 
steaming  funnels  exhaling  into  the  etherine  atmosphere  in 
calm,  unruffled  monotone  and  paroxysmal  ejection,  vast 
clouds  of  fleecy  vapor  from  the  underground  furnaces  of 
the  God  of  Nature;  sylvan  parkland,  where  amidst  the 

(263) 


264  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

unsullied  freshness  of  flower-strewn  valley  and  bountiful 
woodland,  the  native  fauna  of  the  land  browse  in  fearless 
joy  and  wander  wild  and  free,  unf retted  by  sound  of 
huntsman's  horn,  the  long-drawn  bay  of  the  hound,  and 
the  sharp  crack  of  the  rifle. 

"  Land  of  beauteous  vale  and  laughing  water,  thunder- 
ing cataract  and  winding  ravine ;  realm  of  the  Ice  King 
and  the  Fire  King;  enchanted  spot,  where  mountain  and 
sea  meet  and  kiss  each  other ;  where  the  murmurs  of  the 
river,  as  it  meanders  through  heaven-blest  valleys,  becomes 
harsh  and  sullen  amid  the  pine-covered  hills  which  darken 
and  throttle  its  joyous  song,  until,  uncontrollable,  it  throws 
itself,  a  magnificent  sheet  of  diamond  spray  and  plunging 
torrent,  over  precipices,  and  rolls  along  an  emerald  flood 
betwixt  canon  walls,  such  as  the  eye  of  mortal  has  seldom 
seen." 

The  history  of  this  park  is  involved  in  a  good  deal  of 
mystery.  About  ninety  years  ago  it  was  first  discovered, 
but  the  information  brought  back  to  civilization  by  the 
explorers  was  apparently  so  exaggerated  that  it  excited 
general  ridicule.  No  one  believed  that  the  wonders 
described  really  existed.  Even  later,  when  corroborative 
evidence  was  forthcoming,  skepticism  continued.  It  was 
almost  as  difficult  then  to  make  people  believe  the  truth 
about  the  hot  springs  and  geysers,  as  it  is  now  to  make 
people  believe  that  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  stand  on  the 
edge  of  a  hot  spring,  catch  the  choicest  kind  of  fish  in  the 
cool  waters  of  the  lake  surrounding  him,  and  then  cook  his 
fish  in  the  boiling  water  of  the  spring  without  taking  it  off 
the  hook,  or  walking  a  single  step. 

This  latter  fish  story  has  the  peculiar  feature  of  being 
true.  Several  reliable  men,  including  some  who  have  not 


OUR  NATIONAL  PARK.  265 

allowed  the  ardent  pursuit  of  Isaac  Walton's  pet  pastime 
to  blunt  their  susceptibility  of  veracity,  have  performed 
this  apparently  impossible  feat,  or  have  seen  it  done  right 
before  their  very  eyes.  A  year  or  so  ago,  when  an  appro- 
priation was  asked  for  in  Congress  for  the  further  preser- 
vation of  Yellowstone  Park,  a  member  made  this  extraor- 
dinary possibility  an  argument  in  support  of  his  plea.  A 
roar  of  laughter  succeeded  his  recital,  and  when  the  orator 
stopped  to  explain  that  he  was  merely  recording  an  actual 
fact  and  not  telling  a  fish  story,  there  seemed  to  be  danger 
of  wholesale  convulsion  within  the  legislative  walls. 
Several  of  the  amused  Congressmen  subsequently  made 
inquiries  and  ascertained  to  their  astonishment  that,  instead 
of  exaggeration,  the  half  had  not  been  told,  and  that  if  a 
full  summary  of  the  attractions  of  Yellowstone  Park  were 
to  be  written,  the  immense  shelves  of  the  Congressional 
Library  itself  would  scarcely  hold  the  books  that  would 
have  to  be  written  to  contain  it. 

This  little  divergence  is  to  afford  an  excuse  for  the 
incredulity  of  our  forefathers,  who  made  sarcastic  remarks 
as  to  the  powers  of  wild  Western  whisky,  when  pioneers 
returned  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  told  them  that 
there  existed  away  up  in  the  clouds  an  immense  natural 
park,  where  beauty  and  weirdness  could  be  found  side  by 
side. 

John  Colter,  or  Coulter,  is  said  to  have  been  the 
first  white  man  who  ever  entered  the  natural  portals  of  this 
glorious  park.  It  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  century 
that  this  remarkable  man  had  his  adventure.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition,  which  was 
sent  out  to  explore  the  sources  of  the  Missouri  and 
Columbia  Rivers.  He  was  naturally  an  adventurer,  and  a 


266  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

man  who  had  no  idea  of  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"  danger."  The  party  had  a  glimpse  of  Yellowstone 
Park,  and  Coulter  was  so  enamored  with  the  hunting 
prospects  that  he  either  deserted  from  the  expedition  party 
or  obtained  permission  to  remain  behind. 

However  this  may  have  been,  it  is  certain  that  Coulter 
remained,  with  but  one  companion,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Jefferson  Fork  of  the  Missouri  River.  According  to 
fairly  authentic  records,  he  and  his  companion  were  cap- 
tured by  hostile  Blackfeet,  who  showed  their  resentment 
at  the  intrusion  upon  the  privacy  of  their  domains  by  de- 
priving Coulter  of  his  clothing,  and  Coulter's  companion 
of  his  life.  The  chronic  adventurer,  however,  spent  four 
years  among  the  more  friendly  Bannock  Indians,  wrho 
probably  for  centuries  had  lived  in  or  near  the  park.  He 
had  a  very  enjoyable  time  in  the  newly  discovered  region, 
and  his  adventures  crowded  upon  each  other,  one  after  the 
other,  with  great  rapidity.  When  at  last  he  decided  to 
return  to  the  abode  of  the  white  man,  he  took  with  him  a 
fund  of  recollection  and  incident  of  the  most  sensational 
character,  and  before  he  had  been  at  home  with  his  own 
kindred  a  week,  he  had  earned  the  reputation  of  being  a 
modern  Ananias,  ten  times  more  mendacious  than  the 
original  article. 

Twenty  or  thirty  years  elapsed  before  any  reliable  in- 
formation was  obtained  about  the  park.  James  Bridger, 
the  daring  scout  and  mountaineer,  went  through  the  park 
more  than  once,  and  in  his  most  exaggerated  rhapsodies 
told  of  its  beauties  and  of  its  marvels.  But  Bridger 's 
stories  had  been  tried  in  the  balances  and  found  wanting 
before  this,  and  nobody  worried  very  much  over  them.  In 
1870,  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden  and  Mr.  M.  P.  Langford 


OUR  NATIONAL  PARK.  ?67 

explored  the  park  on  a  more  rational  basis,  and  gave  to  the 
world,  in  reliable  shape,  a  resume  of  their  discoveries. 
Mr.  Langford  was  himself  an  experienced  Western  ex- 
plorer. For  many  years  he  had  desired  to  either  verify  or 
disprove  the  so-called  fairy  tales  which  were  going  the 
rounds  concerning  Yellowstone  Park.  He  found  a  num- 
ber of  equally  adventurous  gentlemen,  including  the 
Surveyor-General  of  Montana,  Mr.  Washburn,  after  whom 
the  expedition  was  generally  known.  In  1871,  Dr.  Hayden, 
who  was  then  connected  with  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey  Department,  undertook  a  scientific  exploration  of 
the  park.  He  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Langford,  and  the 
two  men  together  tore  away  the  veil  of  mystery  which  had 
overhung  the  wonderful  resort  among  the  hills,  and  gave 
to  the  country,  for  the  first  time,  a  reliable  description  of 
one  of  the  most  magnificent  of  its  possessions. 

The  report  was  not  confined  to  eulogy.  It  included  draw- 
ings, photographs  and  geological  summaries,  and  wound 
up  with  an  earnest  appeal  to  the  National  Government 
to  reserve  the  beauty  spot  as  a  National  Park  forever. 
Several  men  arose  to  endorse  the  request,  and  in  March, 
1872,  Congress  passed  an  act  dedicating  Yellowstone  Park 
to  the  public  for  all  time,  declaring  it  to  be  a  grand 
national  playground  and  a  museum  of  unparalleled  and 
incomparable  marvels. 

Since  that  time  the  park  has  gradually  become  better 
known  and  more  highly  appreciated.  The  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  runs  a  branch  line  to  which  the  name  of  the  park 
has  been  given,  and  which  connects  Livingston,  Montana, 
with  Cinnabar,  at  the  northern  edge  of  the  park.  The 
road  is  about  fifty  miles  long,  and  the  scenery  through 
which  it  passes  is  astounding  in  its  nature. 


268  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

From  Cinnabar  the  tourist  is  driven  in  large  stages 
throughout  the  park.  If  at  all  reminiscent  by  nature,  he 
thinks  about  the  experiences  of  Coulter,  to  whom  we  have 
already  referred  as  the  pioneer  white  man  of  Yellowstone. 
Early  in  the  century  the  park  was  occupied  by  Indians,  who 
had  scarcely  come  in  contact  with  white  men,  and  who 
had  not  learned  that  in  the  unavoidable  conflict  between 
races,  the  weaker  must  inevitably  succumb  to  the  stronger. 
Around  the  limpid  streams  and  at  the  borders  of  the  virgin 
forests,  containing  untold  wealth,  tents  made  of  skin 
drawn  over  boughs  cut  roughly  from  trees,  could  be  seen 
in  every  direction.  All  around  there  were  rough-looking, 
utterly  uncivilized  Indians,  who  were  carrying  out  their 
usual  occupation  of  doing  nothing,  and  doing  it  with  ex- 
ceptional ability. 

The  women  or  squaws  were  more  active,  but  frequently 
paused  in  their  work  to  look  at  the  unfortunate  Coulter, 
who,  deprived  of  his  clothing  and  absolutely  naked,  was 
waiting,  bound  hand  and  foot,  for  the  fate  that  he  had 
every  reason  to  believe  awaited  him.  His  only  companion 
had  been  killed  the  day  before,  and  he  expected  every 
minute  to  meet  the  same  fate.  According  to  his  own 
description  of  what  followed,  strategy  saved  his  life.  An 
Indian,  sent  for  the  purpose,  asked  him  if  he  could  run 
fast.  Knowing  himself  to  be  an  athlete  of  no  mean 
ability,  but  guessing  the  object  of  the  question,  he  assured 
the  Indian  that  he  was  not  a  speedy  runner.  The  answer 
had  the  effect  he  anticipated. 

His  thongs  were  almost  immediately  cut,  and  he  was 
taken  out  on  the  open  prairie,  given  a  trifling  start,  and 
then  told  that  he  might  save  himself  if  he  could.  Coulter 
had  run  many  a  fast  mile  before,  but  he  never  ran  as  on 


Scenes  In  and  Around  Yellowstone  Park. 


OUR  NATIONAL  PARK.  271 

this  occasion.  He  knew  that  behind  him  there  were, 
among  the  indolent  young  Indians,  many  who  could  run 
with  great  speed,  and  his  only  hope  lay  in  getting  to  cover 
ahead  of  these.  Every  long  stride  meant  that  much  space 
between  him  and  death,  and  every  stride  he  took  was  the 
longest  in  his  power.  Again  and  again  he  looked  around, 
only  to  discover  to  his  astonishment  that  he  had  but  just 
held  his  own.  At  last,  however,  all  his  pursuers  except 
one  were  tired  of  the  pursuit,  and  when  he  found  this  to 
be  the  case,  he  turned  like  a  stag  at  bay  and  overpowered 
him. 

Then  seeing  that  others  of  the  Indians  were  taking  up 
the  chase,  after  a  brief  rest,  Coulter  made  another  great 
run,  plunged  into  the  river  in  front  of  him,  and  finally 
entered  the  labyrinth  of  forests  and  craters  now  known  to 
the  world  as  Yellowstone  Park.  Here,  if  his  story  is  to  be 
believed,  he  succeeded  in  making  for  himself  clothing  of 
some  character  out  of  the  skins  of  beasts  that  he  shot,  and 
finally  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  less  hostile  red  men. 

So  much  of  the  early  days  of  Yellowstone,  and  of  the 
reminiscences  which  a  first  visit  naturally  conjure  up.  The 
park  as  it  exists  to-day  is  overcrowded  with  modern  in- 
terests, and  one  only  refers  to  these  reminiscences  by  way 
of  contrast.  There  are  in  the  park  at  'least  100  geysers, 
nearly  4,000  springs,  and  an  immense  number  of  miniature 
parks,  large  and  small  rivers,  and  other  marvels. 

The  park  is  about  equi-distant  from  the  cities  of  Port- 
land and  St.  Paul,  and  so  many  people  have  been  attracted 
to  it  in  recent  years  that  a  large  number  of  very  fine  hotels 
have  been  built  at  a  great  expense.  The  hotels  are  open 
about  four  months  a  year,  and  the  help  to  run  them  is 
brought  from  different  States.  The  expenses  are  naturally 

1C 


272  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

heavy,  and  hence  the  hotel  charges  are  not  nominal,  al- 
though the  tourist  can  generally  limit  the  expenses  incurred 
to  the  bulk  of  his  pocket-book,  should  he  so  desire.  If  he 
includes  in  his  calculations  the  absolutely  free  sights  that 
he  witnesses,  the  expense  of  a  trip  is  certainly  moderate, 
and  ought  not  to  be  taken  into  much  consideration. 

The  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  is  one  of  the  leading 
sources  of  attraction  of  the  park,  a  tour  of  which  is  some- 
thing no  American  of  means  can  afford  to  miss.  The 
springs  are  very  hard  to  describe.  They  consist  of  a  number 
of  irregular  terraces,  some  as  large  as  five  acres  in  extent, 
and  others  very  small.  Some  are  a  few  feet  high,  and  others 
stand  forty  or  sixty  feet  above  the  one  next  below.  Few 
people  really  understand  what  these  springs  are,  or  how 
the  terraces  are  formed.  One  authority  of  eminence  says 
that  the  rocks  underlying  the  particular  point  are  cal- 
careous in  character,  consisting  mainly  of  carbonated  lime, 
which  is  somewhat  soluble  in  percolating  earth  water.  The 
hot  subterranean  water  dissolves  a  large  amount  of  mineral 
matter  in  passing  through  the  earth,  which  it  deposits  on 
the  surface  in  passing  through  the  air.  By  this  process 
walls,  embankments  and  terraces  are  built  up,  and  as  the 
minerals  through  which  the  water  passes  are  varying 
greatly  in  color,  so  the  deposits  left  on  the  surface  are 
some  of  them  red,  other  pink  and  others  black,  with 
yellows,  greens,  blues,  chocolates  and  mixed  colors  abound- 
ing in  immense  numbers,  sometimes  harmonizing  beauti- 
fully and  sometimes  presenting  the  most  astounding 
contrasts. 

The  water  in  the  springs  is  not  warm,  but  hot,  and 
hence  the  name.  Frequently  the  temperature  exceeds  100 
degrees,  in  which  case  the  coloring  matter  seems  to  be 


OUR  NATIONAL  PARK  273 

washed  out,  and  the  terraces  present  a  white  appearance. 
On  other  occasions,  where  the  temperature  is  less  severe, 
the  varying  hues  already  referred  to  abound  on  every 
side.  Sometimes  this  whiteness,  or  bleached-oiit  appear- 
ance, is  astounding  in  its  effects.  The  true  artist  will 
stand  for  hours  gazing  upon  it,  and  wishing  that  he  could 
reproduce ,  ever  so  inaccurately,  the  intense  beauties  which 
surround  him. 

Behind  the  springs,  and  blocking  up  the  view  on  the 
south,  is  the  mountain  known  as  Bunsen  Peak,  the  high- 
est within  the  range  of  the  eye.  Just  across  the  open 
space,  in  front  of  the  hotel  at  the  springs,  are  the  quarters 
of  the  National  soldiers  who  patrol  the  park,  and,  to  a 
certain  extent  at  any  rate,  protect  it  from  the  vandal  and 
the  purloiner. 

In  an  admirable  description  of  this  scene  contained  in 
"Indian  Land  and  Wonderland,"  a  very  delightful  story  is 
told  of  the  long,  low,  flat  and  lava-capped  mountain  known 
a-s  Mount  Everts,  in  honor  of  Mr.  T.  C.  Everts  of  Helena. 
Few  know  the  story  upon  which  the  mountain  owes  its 
name,  which  is  given  as  follows: 

Among  the  members  of  the  first  party  that  ever 
explored  Yellowstone  Park  were  Messrs.  M.  P.  Langford, 
S.  T.  Hauser  and  T.  C.  Everts.  There  was  also  a  military 
escort  under  Lieutenant  Doane.  The  party  proceeded  up 
the  Yellowstone  Rfver  to  the  Grand  Canon,  thence  across 
to  Yellowstone  Lake,  around  its  eastern  edge  to  the  south- 
ern end,  whence  turning  west  they  followed  down  the 
Firehole  River  through  the  Upper  Geyser  Basin  to  the 
Madison  River.  Following  this  river  out  from  the  park, 
they  returned  to  Western  civilization — all  but  one  of 
them. 


274  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

On  the  nineteenth  day  out,  September  9th,  when  mov- 
ing across  the  country  bordering  the  southern  shore  of  the 
lake,  Mr.  Everts  became  lost.  The  traveling  here  was 
difficult,  owing  to  fallen  timber,  rugged  heights  and  no 
trails,  and  he  was  not  missed  until  camp  was  made  at 
night.  Mr.  Everts  was  not  seen  again  for  thirty-seven 
days,  when  he  was  found  by  two  mountaineers  on  the 
verge  of  what  is  now  known  as  Mount  Everts,  perfectly 
exhausted,  and  partly  deranged  through  exposure  and 
suffering.  On  the  very  first  day  of  his  absence  his  horse, 
left  standing  and  unfastened,  with  all  the  man's  arms  and 
camp  equipments  attached,  became  frightened  and  ran 
away.  Everts  was  near-sighted,  had  not  even  a  knife  for 
use  or  defense,  and  only  a  field  glass  to  assist  him  in 
escaping.  He  first  managed  to  reach  Heart  Lake,  the 
source  of  Snake  River.  Here  he  remained  for  twelve 
days,  sleeping  close  by  the  Hot  Springs  to  keep  from 
freezing.  His  food  was  thistle  roots,  boiled  in  the  springs. 
One  night  he  was  forced  into  a  tree  by  a  mountain  lion, 
and  kept  there  all  night. 

Finally,  he  bethought  himself  of  the  lenses  of  his  field 
glasses,  and  thus  was  enabled  to  kindle  fires.  He  wan- 
dered all  along  the  western  side  of  the  lake  and  down  the 
Yellowstone  to  where  he  was  providentially  found.  He 
gave  the  story  of  his  terrible  experience  in  the  old  "Scrib- 
ner's  Magazine,"  since  become  "The  Century,"  andathrill- 
[ing  tale  it  makes.  In  a  country  filled  with  a  network  of 
streams,  abundantly  supplied  with  animal  life  for  food, 
gorged  with  timber  for  fuel,  the  man  nearly  froze  and 
starved  and  perished  from  thirst.  Twice  he  was  five  days 
without  food ;  once  three  days  without  water.  It  was  late 
in  the  season,  and  the  storms  swept  down  on  him  and 


OUR  NATIONAL  PARK.  275 

chilled  him  to  the  bone ;  the  snows  kept  him  prisoner  in 
camp,  or,  when  on  his  painful  marches,  blocked  his 
progress. 

Naturally,  he  lost  strength,  and  became  hourly  in 
danger  of  succumbing  to  the  vast  difficulties  which  con- 
fronted him.  His  sufferings  were  increased  by  the  fear 
which  was  created  by  a  large  mountain  lion,  which  got  on 
his  trail  and  followed  him,  evidently  with  a  view  to  making 
him  a  feature  of  the  menu  of  his  next  meal.  It  seems 
incredible  that  Mr.  Everts  should  ever  have  escaped  with 
his  life.  Fortune,  however,,  came  to  his  rescue  at  last. 
He  was  rescued  and  nursed  back  to  life  by  good  friends. 
To  the  plateau  on  which  he  was  found,  his  name  was  given, 
although  there  are  few  who  will  remember  the  significance 
of  the  name. 

Norris  Geyser  is  another  of  the  almost  miraculous 
features  of  the  park.  The  basin  of  the  geyser  has  been 
described  as  a  weird,  uncanny  place,  and  the  words  seem 
well  chosen.  Of  vegetation  there  is  practically  none, 
because  the  underground  heat  keeps  the  ground  always 
warm,  and  steam  breaks  out  into  the  atmosphere  at  several 
points.  The  general  aspect  is  drear  and  desolate,  gray  and 
dull,  and  yet  there  is  something  about  it  beautiful  as  well 
as  uncanny. 

A  geyser  is  always  a  source  of  wonder.  The  word  is  of 
Icelandic  derivation,  and  signifies  gushing.  As  applied  to 
phenomena  such  as  we  are  now  describing,  its  applica- 
bility is  good,  for,  from  the  mouth  of  the  geysers,  there 
rushes  from  time  to  time  an  immense  mass  of  boiling 
water  and  steam,  creating  a  disturbance  of  no  ordinary 
character.  It  is  assumed  that  the  water  hurled  into  the 
air  to  a  great  height  while  at  boiling  point,  has  risen  to  the 


276  MY  NATIVE   LAXD. 

surface  through  masses  of  lava,  which  arc  reminiscent  of 
volcanic  ages  far  beyond  the  memory  of  mankind.  The 
mystery  of  geological  formation  is  too  great  to  be  gone 
into  in  a  work  of  this  character,  but  the  bare  contempla- 
tion of  geysers,  such  as  are  seen  at  Yellowstone  Park, 
reminds  one  of  the  wonders  deeply  hidden  in  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  unappreciated  and  unknown  by  and  to  99  per 
cent,  of  the  human  race. 

At  the  Norris  Geyser  basin  the  noise  is  extraordinary, 
and  people  who  are  superstitiously  inclined  are  awed  at 
the  rumblings  and  grumblings  which  seem  to  issue  from 
the  bowels  of  the  earth.  Eruptions  of  hot  water  and 
steam  at  irregular  intervals  burst  forth,  and  the  very  road 
which  crosses  the  adjoining  plain  has  been  bleached  to 
almost  perfect  whiteness  by  the  vapors.  The  crust  of 
ground  is  very  thin  all  around  here,  and  indiscriminate 
exploring  is  dangerous.  To  slip  through  the  crust  into 
the  boiling  water  beneath  would  inevitably  involve  being 
scalded  to  death,  and  the  man  who  allows  the  guide  to 
show  him  where  to  tread  exhibits  the  greater  wisdom. 

In  direct  contrast  to  this  basin  is  the  Elk  Park.  Yel- 
lowstone is  celebrated  among  other  things  for  being  the 
home  of  an  immense  number  of  the  most  remarkable 
specimens  of  North  American  animals.  The  Government 
herd  of  buffalo  in  the  park  is  of  countless  value,  because 
it  is  really  the  only  complete  representation  at  the  present 
time  of  the  practically  extinct  species  of  flesh  and  hide 
producing  animals  which  used  to  graze  by  the  million  on 
the  prairie.  The  buffalo  are  comparatively  tame.  Most 
of  them  were  born  within  the  confines  of  the  park,  and 
seem  to  have  realized  that  the  existence  of  their  kind  in 
perpetuity  is  one  of  the  greatest  desires  of  the  Govern- 


OUR  NATIONAL  PARK.  277 

ment.  There  are  a  number  of  bears  around  as  well,  but 
they  have  lost  their  viciousness,  and  enjoy  life  very  hugely 
under  somewhat  changed  conditions.  They  seldom  hurt 
any  one,  but  prowl  around  the  hotels  at  night,  and  by 
eating  up  the  scraps  and  leavings  solve  the  garbage  prob- 
lem in  a  satisfactory  manner. 

Deer,  elk,  antelope  and  mountain  sheep  climb  the 
mountains,  and  very  frequently  find  their  way  into  Elk 
Park  or  Gibbon  Meadow.  This  is  an  exceptionally  desir- 
able wintering  ground,  because  it  is  surrounded  by  hills 
and  mountains  which  keep  off  the  worst  of  the  winds,  and 
there  is,  moreover,  a  perpetual  spring  of  pure  water.  The 
meadow  is  probably  the  prettiest  spot  in  the  entire  park. 
There  is  less  of  the  awful  and  more  of  the  picturesque 
than  can  be  found  elsewhere,  and  it  is,  in  many  respects, 
an  oasis  in  a  vast  and  somewhat  dreary  expanse  of  land. 

Golden  Gate  is  another  of  the  exquisite  spots  every 
visitor  to  Yellowstone  Park  seeks  and  finds.  To  reach  the 
Golden  Gate  one  must  be  a  great  climber,  for  it  is  high  up, 
and  the  road  to  it  is  built  along  the  edge  of  a  cliff,  which, 
in  places,  seems  to  be  absolutely  perpendicular.  The  gate 
is,  however,  worth  reaching,  and  one  is  not  surprised  to 
hear  that  as  much  as  $14,000  were  spent  in  cutting  out  a 
single  mile  of  the  road  to  it  through  the  rock. 

Leaving  the  Golden  Gate,  and  continuing  the  tour  of 
inspection,  a  valley  of  large  dimensions  is  seen.  The 
contrast  between  the  rich  green  of  almost  faultless  verdure, 
and  the  dreariness  of  the  rocks  left  behind,  is  striking.  It 
would  seem  as  though  nature  had  built  up  an  immense 
barrier  between  the  weird  and  the  natural,  so  that  the  one 
could  not  affect  the  other.  The  Bible  speaks  01  the  intense 
comfort  of  the  shade  of  a  great  rock  in  a  dry  and  thirsty 


278  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

land.  A  sensation  of  equal,  if  not  greater,  relief  is  expe- 
rienced in  Yellowstone  Park  when  one  leaves  the  grand, 
death-like  desolation  around  the  Hot  Springs,  and  encoun- 
ters the  exquisite  beauty  of  shrub  land  and  timber  but  a 
few  paces  away.  The  groves  of  trees  are  in  themselves 
sources  of  great  delight,  and  also  of  immense  wealth. 
Fortunately,  they  will  be  preserved  in  perpetuity  for  the 
American  people.  The  lumber  king  cannot  get  here.  His 
ravages  must  be  confined  to  other  regions. 

The  valley  into  which  the  tourist  has  entered  takes  its 
name  from  the  Swan  Lake,  a  very  delightful  inland 
mountain  scene.  The  lake  is  about  two  miles  from  Golden 
Gate.  It  is  not  a  very  large  body  of  water,  but  its  rippling 
surface  extracts  expressions  of  admiration  from  all  who 
behold  it.  It  has  been  described  as  a  demure  looking 
sheet  of  water,  and  there  is  something  about  the  appear- 
ance of  the  lake  which  seems  to  justify  the  peculiar  defi- 
nition. The  canon  forming  the  valley  is  like  everything 
else  in  Yellowstone  Park — a  little  out  of  the  ordinary.  On 
the  one  side  there  are  lofty  mountains,  with  eminences  and 
peaks  of  various  formation  and  height,  while  in  the 
distance  the  great  Electric  Peak  can  be  easily  seen.  We 
have  already  spoken  of  Yellowstone  Park  as  being  about 
10,000  feet  above  the  sea  level.  Electric  Peak,  well 
described  as  the  sentinel  of  the  park,  is  more  than  11,000 
feet  high.  Viewed  from  a  distance,  or  along  the  line  of 
the  valley,  it  is  calculated  to  excite  both  admiration  and 
awe. 

Willow  Creek  Park,  or  Willow  Park,  as  it  is  some- 
times called,  lies  due  south.  It  takes  its  name  from  the 
immense  growth  of  willow  bushes  which  hide  the  ground 
from  view,  and  monopolize  the  scenery  and  groundwork 


OUE  NATIONAL  PARK.  279 

entirely.  None  of  these  bushes  can  claim  the  right  to 
be  called  trees,  as  the  average  height  is  inconsiderable. 
But  they  make  up  in  density  what  they  lack  in  altitude. 
The  peculiar  green  of  the  willow  is  the  predominating 
color,  without  any  variation  of  any  kind.  The  idea  con- 
veyed to  the  mind  is  of  a  huge  green  carpet  or  rug,  and  when 
the  wind  blows  freely  across  the  valley,  it  divides  up  the 
bushes  into  little  ridges  or  furrows,  which  add  to  the 
uniqueness  of  the  scene.  Springs  of  remarkably  pure 
water,  many  of  them  possessed  of  medicinal  power,  abound 
in  this  neighborhood,  and  tourists  slake  an  imaginary 
thirst  with  much  interest  at  different  ones  of  these. 

The  Obsidian  Creek  runs  slowly  through  this  valley. 
Obsidian  Cliff  is  the  next  object  of  special  interest  which  is 
witnessed.  It  is  half  a  mile  long  and  from  150  to  200  feet 
high.  The  southern  end  is  formed  of  volcanic  glass,  or 
obsidian,  as  true  a  glass  as  any  artificially  produced.  The 
roadway  at  its  base  is  constructed  across  the  talus,  and  is 
emphatically  a  glass  road.  Huge  fragments  of  obsidian, 
black  and  shining,  some  of  it  streaked  with  white 
seams,  line  the  road.  Small  pieces  are  also  plentiful.  This 
flow  of  glass  came  from  a  high  plateau  to  the  east-north- 
east. Numerous  vent  pits,  or  apparent  craters,  have  been 
discovered  on  this  plateau.  Mr.  J.  P.  Iddings,  of  the 
Unites  States  Geological  Survey,  who  has  made  a  special 
study  of  Obsidian  Cliff,  contributes  to  the  survey  report 
for  1885-86  a  paper  that  has  in  it  much  that  is  of  interest 
to  the  unscientific  mind. 

The  Lower  Geyser  Basin  is  in  some  respects  more  pleas- 
ing than  the  Norris,  although  the  desolation  is  perhaps 
even  more  apparent.  People  who  have  seen  districts  in 
which  salt  is  made  out  of  brine  extracted  from  wells,  state 


280  MY  NATIVE  LAXD. 

that  the   appearance  in  the  Lower  Geyser  Basin  is  very 

similar  to  what  is  seen  around  manufacturing  districts  of 

« 
that  character.     This  basin  is  in  the  valley  of  the  Firehole 

Kiver,  a  strangely  named  stream,  of  a  very  beautiful 
character.  In  the  basin  itself  the  branches  of  the  Firehole 
unite,  and  with  the  Gibbon  River  form  one  of  the  three 
sources  of  the  Missouri,  called  the  Madison,  after  the  Presi- 
dent of  that  name.  The  Fountain  Geyser  is  the  largest  in 
the  neighborhood,  and  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  park.  It 
is  very  regular  in  its  eruptions,  and  seldom  fails  to  perform 
on  time  for  the  benefit  of  the  onlooker.  It  sends  an 
immense  volume  of  water  into  the  air,  and  resembles  a 
fountain  very  closely.  Its  basin  is  very  interesting,  and 
gives  a  good  example  of  the  singular  deposits  left  by  a 
geyser. 

When  the  fountain  is  busy  throwing  out  its  volumes  of 
water,  the  appearance  is  very  peculiar.  Little  notice  is 
given  of  an  eruption,  which  takes  place  suddenly, 
although  at  stated  intervals.  All  at  once  the  watcher 
is  rewarded  for  his  patience  by  having  the  stillness 
changed  into  activity  of  the  most  boisterous  charac- 
ter. The  water  is  hurled  upwards  in  a  mass  of 
frothing,  boiling  and  foaming  crystals.  The  actual 
height  varies,  but  frequently  goes  as  far  as  thirty  feet.  In 
a  moment  the  wall  of  water  becomes  compact,  oblong  and 
irregular.  Crystal  effects  are  produced,  varying  according 
to  the  time  of  day  and  the  amount  of  light,  but  always  de> 
lightf ul  and  peculiar. 

Close  at  hand  are  the  Mammoth  Paint  Pots,  in  the 
center  of  the  Firehole  Geyser.  We  can  explain  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Paint  Pot  or  Mud  Bath  much  more  easily 
than  we  can  account  for  the  phenomenon.  It  is  well 


OUR  NATIONAL  PARK.  281 

named,  because  it  resembles  a  succession  of  paint  pots  of 
enormous  size  more  than  anything  else  that  the  imagina- 
tion can  liken  it  to.  The  basin  measures  forty  by  sixty 
feet,  with  a  mud  boundary  three  or  four  feet  high  on  three 
sides  of  it.  The  contents  of  the  basin  have  kept  scientists 
wondering  for  years.  The  substance  is  white,  looking  very 
much  like  ordinary  paint,  but,  unlike  paint,  it  is  constantly 
in  motion,  and  the  agitation  is  so  persistent  that  an  idea  is 
given  that  the  Paint  Pot's  basin  is  the  bed  of  a  crater. 
The  continual  bubbling  and  vibration  is  very  interesting 
in  its  effects,  and  the  noise  it  makes  is  quite  peculiar,  not 
unlike  a  subdued  hiss  or  a  badly  executed  stage-whisper. 
Mixed  among  the  white  substance  is  a  quantity  of  silicious 
clay  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  color.  This  produces  a 
variation  in  the  appearance,  but  is  merely  in  addition  to 
what  is  otherwise  marvelous  in  the  extreme.  Pearl  gray, 
with  terra" cotta,  red  and  green  tints  is  the  basic  color  of 
this  boiling,  seething  mass,  which  seems  to  be  continually 
at  unrest  and  in  a  course  of  worry. 

The  Excelsior  Geyser  is  the  most  conspicuous  feature 
of  the  Midway  Basin,  a  collection  of  hot  springs  and  pools. 
They  are  situated  in  the  Midway  Basin,  and  were  originally 
called  Cliff  Caldron.  Excelsior  Geyser  is  in  a  continual 
state  of  anarchy,  without  law,  government  or  regulation. 
It  does  just  as  it  likes  and  when  it  likes.  It  seldom  per- 
forms when  wanted  to,  but  when  it  does  break  out  into  a 
condition  of  fermentation,  the  effect  is  very  magnificent. 
As  one  writer  puts  it,  the  beauties  and  exhibitions  of  this 
geyser  are  as  far  superior  to  those  of  all  the  others  as  the 
light  of  the  sun  seems  to  that  of  the  moon. 

The  geyser  was  for  years  regarded  as  the  grandest 
spring  in  the  park,  before  its  exeptionally  great  features 


282  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

prevailed  or  became  apparent.  In  the  years  1881-82,  the 
eruptions  from  this  geyser  became  so  terrific  that  it 
spouted  water  as  high  as  250  feet,  and  converted  the  gen- 
erally inoffensive  Firehole  Eiver  into  a  torrent  of  storming 
water.  Rocks  of  large  size  and  heavy  enough  to  be  very 
dangerous  were  hurled  headlong  from  within  the  mysteri- 
ous confines  of  the  earth,  and  were  dashed  around  in  all 
directions.  For  miles  the  terrific  noise  could  be  heard,  and 
people  who  had  been  waiting  for  a  phenomenon  of  this 
character,  hurried  across  country  to  witness  it.  It  is  only 
now  and  again  that  a  phenomenon  of  this  kind  is  repeated, 
and  the  most  skillful  geologists  are  unable  to  gfive  us  any 
adequate  forecasts  as  to  when  the  next  performance  will 
take  place. 

Rehearsals  seem  always  in  progress.  Vast  masses  of 
steam  rise  from  the  crater  or  hole.  Many  people  crowd  to 
the  edge  of  the  basin  and  strive  to  penetrate  into  the  mys- 
teries of  subterranean  happenings.  The  day  may  come 
when  some  scientific  method  of  seeing  through  smoke  and 
steam  and  enduring  scalding  heat  without  difficulty  may 
be  devised.  Until  then  the  mystery  must  remain  unsolved. 

In  exact  contrast  with  the  irregular  and  spasmodic 
action  of  the  Excelsior,  is  the  methodical,  persevering 
action  of  Old  Faithful.  This  is  another  of  the  great  and 
popular  geysers  of  Yellowstone  Park.  It  is  so  uniform  in 
its  appearance  that  a  man  can  keep  his  watch  regulated  by 
it.  Every  sixty-five  minutes  the  well-named  geyser  gives 
forth  a  peculiar  noise  to  warn  the  world  that  it  is  about 
to  perform.  Then  for  about  five  minutes  a  vast  stream  of 
water  and  steam  is  hurled  into  the  air  to  the  height  of 
about  150  feet.  The  mass  of  boiling  water  measures  six 
feet  in  diameter,  and  the  volume  discharged  exceeds  a 


OUR  NATIONAL  PARK.  283 

hundred  thousand  gallons  each  hour.  Day  by  day  and 
hour,  for  nearly  twenty  years,  this  industrious  geyser  has 
regularly  done  its  duty,  and  afforded  entertainment  for 
visitors.  No  one  knows  how  long  prior  to  that  time  it 
commenced  operations,  or  for  how  long  it  will  continue. 

Leaving  for  the  moment  the  consideration  of  geysers 
and  hot  springs  and  other  wonders  of  this  character,  the 
sightseer  gets  a  view  of  a  very  different  nature.  At 
Keppler's  Cascades  the  stage  coach  generally  stops  to 
enable  passengers  to  walk  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff  and 
watch  the  cascades  and  foaming  river  in  the  black  canon 
below.  Then  the  journey  proceeds  through  the  Firehole 
Valley,  and  through  leafy  forests  and  open  glades,  until  the 
narrow  and  tortuous  canon  of  Spring  Creek  is  reached. 
The  scenery  here  is  decidedly  unconventional  and  wild. 

We  soon  reach  the  summit  of  the  Continental  Divide. 
Now  the  outlook  is  much  expanded,  and  it  becomes  more 
majestic  and  dignified.  The  mountains  overhang  the 
roadway  on  one  side  and  drop  far  below  on  the  other. 
Heavy,  shaggy  forests  cover  the  slopes  and  peaks,  while 
tiny  island  parks,  as  it  were,  and  cheerful  openings  are 
occasionally  seen.  The  road  winds  about  the  mountain- 
flanks,  now  climbing  up,  now  descending;  the  whole  aspect 
of  nature  grows  more  grand,  more  austere;  the  air  grows 
more  rarified,  and  one  becomes  more  and  more  exalted  in 
spirit.  Occasionally  the  mountains  break  away  and  you 
obtain  a  view  far  out  beyond  the  narrow  limits  round  about. 
Distant  mountains  are  seen,  and  the  feeling  that  there  are 
nothing  but  mountain-walls  about  you  impresses  itself 
strongly  upon  one,  and  it  is  just  about  true.  After  several 
miles  of  such  riding,  and  when  you  have  begun  to  imagine 
that  nothing  finer  can  come,  the  road  leads  up  to  a  point 


284  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

that,  almost  before  you  know  it,  simply  drives  from  your 
thoughts  all  else  seen  on  this  ride. 

It  is  a  wonderful  picture,  and  produces  a  state  of  exul- 
tation that  to  some  must  seem  almost  too  strong  to  endure. 
The  mountains,  which  rise  high  above,  stretch  also  far 
below,  and  in  every  direction  are  at  their  very  best.  Proud 
and  regal  in  their  strength  and  bearing,  they  are  still,  from 
summit  to  the  depths,  heavily  covered  with  the  primeval 
forest.  It  would  seem  as  if  they  really  knew  what  a  view 
was  here  unfolded,  and  to  rejoice  in  the  grandeur  of  the 
scene.  Like  a  thread,  you  can  trace  the  turns  and  lines  of 
the  road  along  which  the  stage  has  come.  But  that  which 
adds  the  softer,  more  beautiful  element  to  a  picture  other- 
wise almost  overpowering  in  its  grandeur,  and  withal  stern 
and  unyielding,  is  seen  through  a  break  or  portal  off  to 
the  south. 

Far  away,  far  below,  lies  a  portion  of  Shoshone  Lake. 
Like  a  sleeping  babe  in  its  mother's  lap,  nestles  this  tiny 
lakelet  babe  in  the  mountains.  It  shines  like  a  plate  of 
silver  or  beautiful  mirror.  It  is  a  gem  worth  crossing  a 
continent  to  see,  especially  as  there  runs  between  the  lake 
and  the  point  of  view  a  little  valley  dressed  in  bright, 
grassy  green  as  a  kind  of  foreground  in  the  rear.  There 
is  thus  a  silvered  lake,  a  lovely  valley,  with  bright  and 
warm  green  shades,  and  rich,  dark-black  forests  in  the 
rear.  No  one  can  gaze  upon  such  a  combination  and  con- 
trast without  being  impressed,  and  without  recognizing  the 
sublime  beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  park  and  its  surround- 
ings. 

Yellowstone  Lake  is  another  of  the  extraordinary 
attractions  of  our  great  National  Park.  It  is  described 
as  the  highest  inland  sea  in  the  world,  and  more  than  7,000 


OUR  NATIONAL   PARK.  285 

feet  above  the  sea  level.  It  is,  really,  nearly  8,000  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  its  icy  cold  water  covers  a"  area  some 
thirty  miles  in  length  and  about  half  as  wide  or  aoout  300 
square  miles.  This  glorious  inland  ocean  is  perched  up  at 
the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  just  where  no  one 
would  expect  to  find  it.  Several  islands  of  varying  sizes 
are  dotted  over  the  surface  of  the  water,  which  at  times 
is  as  smooth  as  a  little  mill  pond,  and  at  others  almost  as 
turbulent  as  the  sea.  The  shores  are  entirely  irregular  in 
their  formation,  and  Promontory  Point  extends  out  into 
the  water  a  great  distance,  forming  one  of  the  most 
peculiar  inland  peninsulas  in  the  entire  world.  Along  the 
southern  shore,  inlets  and  bays  are  very  numerous,  some 
of  them  natural  in  character,  and  others  full  of  evidence  of 
brisk,  and  even  terrific,  volcanic  action. 

From  the  peculiar  rocks  and  eminences  along  the  shore, 
reflections  are  cast  into  the  water  of  an  almost  indescriba- 
ble character.  They  are  varied  in  nature  and  color,  and, 
like  the  lake  itself,  differ  from  anything  to  be  seen  else- 
where. Another  unique  feature  of  this  lake,  and  one  that 
has  to  be  seen  to  be  understood,  is  the  presence  on  the 
banks,  and  even  out  in  the  lake  itself,  of  hot  springs  and 
geysers  full  of  boiling  water  and  steam.  Some  of  these 
springs  have  wide  and  secure  edges,  or  banks,  on  which  a 
man  can  stand  and  fish.  Then,  on  his  right  hand,  he  has 
the  icy-cold  water  of  the  lake,  from  which  he  can  obtain 
trout  and  other  fish,  until  he  begins  to  dream  of  a  fisher- 
man's paradise.  Dr.  Hayden,  the  explorer,  already 
referred  to,  was  the  first  man  to  take  advantage  of  the 
opportunity  and  to  cook  his  fish  unhooked  in  the  boiling 
water  to  his  left,  merely  making  a  half  turn  in  order  to  do 
so.  When  the  Professor  first  mentioned  this  fact,  he  was 


286  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

good  humoredly  laughed  at,  but,  as  stated  in  an  earlier 
part  of  this  chapter,  the  possibility  has  been  so  clearly 
demonstrated,  that  people  have  long  since  admitted  us  a 
possibility  what  they  had  first  denounced  as  an  utter 
absurdity. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    HEROES    OF    THE    IRON    HORSE. 

Honor  to  Whom  Honor  is  Due — A  Class  of  Men  Not  Always  Thor- 
oughly Appreciated  at  their  Worth — An  Amateur's  Ride  on  a  Flying 
Locomotive — From  Twelve  Miles  an  Hour  to  Six  Times  that  Speed 
— The  Signal  Tower  and  the  Men  who  Work  in  it — Stealing  a 
Train — A  Race  with  Steam — Stories  about  Bewitched  Locomotives 
and  Providential  Escapes. 

nffm  O  one  who  has  not  given  the  matter  special  con- 
•'  ^  sideration  has  the  remotest  idea  of  the  magnitude 
and  importance  of  the  railroad  system  of  the  United  States. 
Nor  has  any  one  who  has  not  studied  the  statistics  bearing 
on  the  question  the  faintest  conception  of  the  cost  of  the 
roads  built  and  in  operation.  The  cost  in  dollars  and  cents 
for  a  mile  of  track  has  been  ascertained  to  a  fractional 
point.  Expert  accountants  have  figured  out  to  a  hundredth 
part  of  a  cent  the  cost  of  hauling  a  passenger  or  a  ton  of 
merchandise  any  given  distance.  There  are  even  tables  in 
existence  showing  the  actual  expense  incurred  in  stopping 
a  train,  while  such  details  as  the  necessary  outlay  in 
wages,  fuel,  repairs,  etc.,  have  received  the  attention 
which  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved  deserves. 

But  the  cost  in  human  life  and  suffering  of  the  great 
railroad  system  of  the  United  States  is  quite  another  mat- 
ter, and  one  that  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  the 
calculations  of  accountants,  expert  or  otherwise.  It  has 
been  said  repeatedly  that  a  man  is  safer  in  a  railroad  train 
than  on  the  streets.  In  other  words,  the  percentage  of 
death  and  serious  injury  is  said  by  statisticians  to  be  lower 

17  (289) 


290  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

among  men  habitually  traveling  than  among  people  who 
are  classed  as  stay-at-homes,  and  who  seldom  take  a  rail- 
road journey.  But  while  this  is  doubtless  correct,  so  far  as 
passengers  are  concerned,  the  rule  does  not  apply  to  rail- 
road employes,  and  those  who  by  their  never-wavering  care 
and  energy  protect  the  life  and  limbs  of  passengers,  and 
make  railroad  traveling  safe  as  well  as  comfortable. 

A  celebrated  divine,  when  preaching  on  the  subject  of 
faith,  once  took  a  railroad  journey  for  an  illustration.  As 
he  pointed  out,  with  much  eloquence  and  force,  there  could 
be  no  more  realistic  personification  of  faith  than  the  man 
who  peacefully  lay  down  to  sleep  at  night  in  his  berth  of  a 
Pullman  car,  relying  implicitly  upon  the  railroad  men  to 
avert  the  thousands  of  dangers  which  had  to  be  encoun- 
tered during  the  still  hours  of  the  night. 

Whenever  there  is  a  strike,  a  great  deal  is  written  about 
the  men  employed  in  various  capacities  by  railroads,  and 
every  misdeed  is  exaggerated,  and  every  indiscretion  mag- 
nified into  a  crime.  But  very  little  is  said  on  the  other  side 
of  the  question.  The  men  to  whom  railroad  travelers,  and 
especially  those  who  ride  at  night,  commend  their  safety, 
are  worked  to  the  full  extent  of  their  powers,  and  are  paid 
very  small  wages,  when  the  nature  of  their  duties  and  the 
hours  they  have  to  make  are  taken  into  consideration.  • 

The  commendation  of  these  men  takes  the  form  of 
deeds,  rather  than  words,  '  and  while  so  few  have  ever 
stopped  to  consider  the  loyalty  and  devotion  of  the  poorly 
paid  and  hard-worked  railroad  man,  every  traveler  who 
enters  a  railroad  car  pays  silent  tribute  to  their  reliability. 
The  passenger,  as  he  lounges  comfortably  in  a  luxurious 
seat,  or  sleeps  peacefully  in  his  state-room,  thinks  nothing 
of  the  anxiety  and  annoyances  of  the  men  in  charge  of  the 


HEROES  OF  THE  IR OF  HORSE.        291 

train,  or  of  those  who  are  responsible  for  the  track  being 
kept  clear,  and  proper  orders  being  given  to  the  engineer. 

This  official  is  a  man  of  many  hardships  and  dangers. 
To  him  is  entrusted  daily  the  lives  of  hundreds  of  human 
beings.  He  knows  not  how  many,  but  he  knows  that  the 
slightest  error  on  his  part  will  hurl  perhaps  ten,  perhap- 
twenty,  and  perhaps  fifty  human  beings  into  eternity,  be- 
sides maiming  for  life  two  or  three  times  as  many  more. 
Pie  knows,  too,  that  not  only  is  he  responsible  for  the  safety 
of  the  men,  women  and  children  who  are  riding  behind 
him,  but  also  for  the  occupants  of  other  trains  on  the  same 
track.  He  knows  exactly  where  he  must  run  on  to  a  side 
track  to  allow  the  express  in  the  other  direction  to  pass, 
and  he  knows  just  where  he  must  slacken  speed  in  order  to 
get  safely  around  a  dangerous  curve,  or  cross  a  bridge 
which  is  undergoing  repairs,  or  which  is  not  quite  as  sub- 
stantial as  it  would  be  if  he,  instead  of  millionaire  railroad 
directors,  had  the  control  of  the  bridge  construction  and 
repair  fund. 

To  catch  an  idea  of  the  responsibility  of  a  locomotive 
engineer,  it  is  necessary  to  ride  a  hundred  miles  or  so  in  an 
engine.  The  author  was  given  this  privilege  on  a  bleak, 
frosty  day,  early  last  winter.  He  was  told  by  the  official* 
that  he  took  the  ride  at  his  own  risk,  and  as  a  matter  of 
personal  favor,  and  that  he  must  not  interfere  with  the 
engineer  or  fireman  in  the  execution  of  their  duties.  The 

o 

guest  was  received  kindly  by  both  engineer  and  fireman, 
and  was  given  a  seat  whence  he  could  see  a  long  expanse  of 
track  over  which  the  locomotive  had  to  draw  the  train  of 
cars.  To  a  novice  the  sensation  of  a  first  ride  on  a  loco- 
motive is  a  very  singular  one,  and  to  say  that  there  is  no 
tinge  of  fear  intermingled  with  the  excitement  and  pleasure, 


MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

would  be  to  make  a  statement  not  borne  out  by  fact. 
On  the  occasion  referred  to,  the  train  was  a  special  one, 
carrying  a  delegation  half  way  across  the  continent.  It 
was  about  fifteen  minutes  late,  and  in  order  to  make  the 
run  to  the  next  division  point  it  was  necessary  to  maintain 
an  average  speed  of  more  than  forty-five  miles  an  hour. 
As  is  almost  always  the  case,  when  there  is  need  for 
exceptional  hurry,  all  sorts  of  trifling  delays  occurred,  and 
several  precious  minutes  were  wasted  before  a  start  could 
be  made. 

Finally,  the  conductor  gives  the  necessary  word,  the 
engineer  pulls  the  lever,  and  the  irregular  passenger  finds 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  how  much  more  difficult  it  is  to 
start  a  locomotive  than  he  ever  imagined. 

First,  there  is  a  distinct  tremble  on  the  huge  locomo- 
tive. Then  there  comes  a  loud  hiss,  with  a  heavy  escape 
of  steam,  as  the  huge  pistons  tug  and  pull  at  the  heavy 
wheels,  which  slip  round  and  round  and  fail  to  grip  the 
rail.  Then,  as  gradually  scientific  power  overcomes  brute 
force,  there  is  a  forward  motion  of  a  scarcely  perceptible 
character.  Then,  as  the  sand-box  is  brought  into  requi- 
sition, the  wheels  distinctly  bite  the  rail,  and,  in  the  words 
of  the  race-track,  "They're  off."  For  a  few  seconds  pro- 
gress is  very  slow,  indeed.  Then  the  good  work  of  the 
trusted  locomotive  becomes  apparent,  and  before  we  are 
well  out  of  the  yards  quite  a  good  speed  is  being  obtained. 
The  fireman  is  busy  ringing  the  bell,  and  the  engineer, 
from  time  to  time,  adds  to  the  warning  noise  by  one  of 
those  indescribable  toots  made  only  by  a  steam  engine. 

Now  we  are  outside  the  city  limits,  and  the  train  is 
making  excellent  time.  We  take  out  our  watch  and  care- 
fully time  the  speed  between  two  mile-posts,  to  ascertain 


HEROES  OF  THE  IRON  HORSE.         293 

that  about  seventy  seconds  were  occupied  in  covering  the 
distance.  Regardless  of  our  instructions  we  mention  this 
fact  to  the  fireman,  who  has  just  commenced  to  throw  a 
fresh  supply  of  coal  on  to  the  roaring  fire,  adding  a  word 

of  congratulation. 

o 

"Why,  that's  nothing,"  he  replies,  laughing,  "we  are 
going  up  grade  now.  Wait  until  we  get  along  the  level  or 
go  down  grade,  and  we  will  show  you  a  mile  away  inside 
of  sixty." 

We  are  not  particularly  glad  to  hear  this.  Already  the 
locomotive  is  rocking  a  good  deal  more  than  is  quite  pleas- 
ant to  the  uninitiated,  and  the  contra-t  between  the  hard 
seat  and  the  pleasant  one  at  our  disposal  in  the  Pullman 
car  is  becoming  more  and  more  obvious.  Just  as  we  are 
wondering  how  it  will  be  possible  to  preserve  one's  equi- 
librium while  going  around  a  curve  in  the  distance,  a  cow 
strays  sheepishly  on  to  the  track,  apparently  some  200 
yards  ahead.  The  engineer  plays  a  tune  with  his  whistle, 
and  the  cow  proceeds  to  trot  down  the  track  in  front  of 
us.  That  singularly  misnamed  appendage,  the  cow-catcher, 
strikes  her  amidships.  She  is  thrown  twenty  feet  in  the 
air,  and  all  that  is  left  of  her  rolls  into  the  ditch  by  the 
side  of  the  track. 

For  the  moment  we  had  forgotten  George  Stephen- 
son's  reply  to  the  member  of  the  British  Parliament,  who 
asked  him  what  would  happen  in  the  event  of  a  cow 
getting  in  front  of  one  of  the  trains  George  was  proposing 
to  run,  if  necessary  powers  could  be  obtained.  His  reply, 
which  has  long  since  become  historical,  was  that  it  would 
be  very  bad  for  the  cow.  We  remembered  this,  and 
agreed  with  the  pioneer  railroad  man  when  we  saw  the 
unfortunate  bovine  turn  a  quadruple  somersault  and  termi- 


294  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

Date  her  existence  in  less  than  a  second.  But  a  moment 
previously  we  had  been  wondering  what  would  happen 
when  the  inevitable  collision  took  place. 

The  fireman  observes  that  the  occurrence  has  somewhat 
unnerved  us,  and  in  a  good-natured  way  assures  us  that 
a  little  thing  of  that  kind  doesn't  amount  to  anything.  It 
is  pretty  "bad,  he  says,  when  a  bunch  of  cows  get  on  a 
track,  and  he  remembers  once,  several  years  ago,  having  a 
train  stopped  out  in  the  Far  West  by  a  bunch  of  fat  steers, 
which  blocked  up  the  track.  "But,"  he  adds,  by  way  of 
parenthesis,  "that  was  on  a  very  poor  road  with  a  broken- 
down  freight  locomotive.  If  we  had  had  "87,"  with 
a  full  head  of  steam  on,  we  could  have  got  through 
all  right,  even  if  we  had  to  overload  the  market  with 
beef." 

Now  the  train  rushes  around  a  curve  in  one  direction 
and  now  in  another.  The  engineer  never  relaxes  his  vigi- 
lance, and,  although  he  affects  to  make  light  of  the 
responsibility,  and  assures  his  somewhat  nervous  passenger 
that  there  is  no  danger  of  any  kind,  his  actions  do  not 
bear  out  his  words.  We  are  running  special,  a  little  ahead 
of  the  mid-day  express  schedule,  and  at  every  station  there 
are  waiting  passengers  who  herald  our  approach  with 
delight,  and,  gathering  together  their  packages,  advance 
to  the  edge  of  the  platform  evidently  supposing  we  are 
going  to  stop  for  them.  That  we  are  to  dash  through  the 
station  at  a  speed  of  fifty  or  sixty  miles  an  hour,  does  not 
occur  to  them  as  a  remote  possibility,  and  the  looks  of 
astonishment  which  greet  us  as  we  rush  past  the  platform 
are  amusing.  Finally,  we  reach  a  long  stretch  of  level 
track,  where  the  rails  are  laid  as  straight  as  an  arrow  for 
apparently  several  miles  ahead. 


HEROES  OF  THE  IRON  HORSE.         295 

"  Now's  your  time,  if  you  want  to  take  a  good  mile," 
says  the  friendly  fireman. 

We  take  his  advice,  and  by  aid  of  a  stop  watch,  especi- 
ally borrowed  for  the  occasion,  we  ascertain  the  fact  that  a 
mile  is  covered  in  fifty-two  seconds.  The  next  mile  is  two 
seconds  slower,  but  the  speed  is  more  than  maintained  on 
the  third  mile.  Reduced  to  ordinary  speed  figures,  this 
means  that  we  are  making  something  like  seventy  miles  an 
hour,  and  doing  vastly  better  than  was  even  anticipated. 
Our  good  work  is,  however,  interfered  with  by  the  sudden 
application  of  the  air  brakes  and  the  shutting  off  of  steam 
as  we  approach  a  little  station,  where  the  signal  is  against 
us.  A  change  in  train  orders  proves  to  be  the  cause  of  the 
hindrance  to  our  progress,  and  the  engineer  grumbles 
somewhat  as  he  finds  he  will  have  to  wait  at  a  station  some 
twenty  miles  further  on,  provided  a  train  coming  in  the 
opposite  direction  is  not  on  the  side  track  before  he  gets 
there.  The  execution  of  this  order  involves  a  delay  of  five 
or  ten  minutes,  but  when  we  have  the  line  clear  again  such 
good  time  is  made  that  we  accomplish  our  task  and  pull 
into  the  depot,  where  locomotives  are  to  be  changed,  on 
time  to  the  second. 

Such  is  a  ride  on  a  locomotive  in  broad  daylight.  At 
night  of  course  the  dangers  and  risks  are  increased  ten-fold. 
The  head-light  pierces  into  the  inky  darkness,  and  fre- 
quently exaggerates  the  size  of  objects  on  and  near  the 
track.  The  slightest  misunderstanding,  the  most  trivial 
misinterpretation  of  an  order,  the  least  negligence  on  the 
part  of  any  one  connected  with  or  employed  by  the  road,  may 
involve  a  wreck,  to  the  total  destruction  of  the  train  and  its 
passengers,  and  the  engineer  feels  every  moment  the  full  ex- 
tent of  his  responsibilities  and  the  nature  of  the  risks  he  runs. 


296  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

These  .responsibilities  are  increased  ten-fold  by  the 
great  speed  necessary  in  these  days  of  haste  and  hurry. 
Few  of  our  great-grandfathers  lived  to  see  steam  applied  as 
a  motive  power  for  locomotion.  Most  of  our  grandparents 
remember  the  first  train  being  run  in  this  country.  Many 
of  those  who  read  these  lines  can  recollect  when  a  philoso- 
pher placed  himself  on  record  that  a  speed  of  twenty  miles 
was  impossible,  because,  even  if  machinery  could  be  con- 
structed to  stand  the  wear  and  tear,  the  motion  would  be 
so  rapid  that  the  train  men  and  passengers  would  succumb 
to  apoplexy  or  some  other  terrible  and  fatal  malady. 

It  is  less  than  seventy  years  ago  since  the  time  that  the 
so-called  crank,  George  Stephenson,  ventured  modestly  to 
assert  that  his  little  four-and-a-half-ton  locomotive,  "The 
Rocket,"  was  actually  capable,  of  whirling  along  one  to  two 
light  carriages  at  the  astounding  velocity  of  twelve  miles 
an  hour.  He  was  laughed  to  scorn  by  the  highly  intelli- 
gent British  Parliamentary  Committee  engaged  in  the 
investigation  of  his  new  method  of  land-traveling.  At 
the  present  day,' with  regularly  scheduled  trains  on  many 
lines  thundering  across  wide  continents  tirelessly  hour 
after  hour,  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  a  minute,  it  is  the  deliber- 
ate judgment  of  the  most  conservative  students  of  railway 
science  that  the  ultimate  limit  of  speed  is  still  in  the  far 
distance,  and  that  100  miles  per  hour  will  not  be  deemed 
an  extraordinary  rate  of  travel  by  the  time  the  first  decade 
of  the  Twentieth  Century  shall  have  closed. 

It  is  true  that  railroad  schedules  seldom  call  for  mile-a- 
minute  traveling,  but  the  engineer  is  called  upon  very 
frequently  to  go  even  faster.  The  majority  of  people, 
even  the  most  intelligent  among  those  who  habitually 
travel,  obtain  their  conceptions  of  speed  from  the  figures 


HEROES  OF  THE  IRON  HORSE.         297 

of  the  time-table,  forgetting  that  in  nearly  every  instance 
considerable  portions  of  the  route  must  be  traversed  at 
much  more  than  the  average  speed  required  to  cover  the 
total  distance  in  the  schedule  time.  There  are  very  few, 
if  any,  of  the  fast  express  trains  which  do  not,  on  some 
part  of  each  "  run,"  reach  or  exceed  a  speed  of  a  mile  a 
minute.  Yet,  by  reason  of  superior  roadway  and  well 
constructed  cars,  the  accelerated  velocity  is  unnoticed ; 
while  running  at  from  sixty  to  seventy  miles  an  hour  the 
passenger  calmly  peruses  his  paper  or  book,  children  play 
in  the  aisle,  and  a  glass  brim  full  of  water  may  be  carried 
from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  smoothly  rolling  coach 
without  the  spilling  of  a  drop.  All  the  while  the  nerves 
of  those  in  charge  of  the  train  are  kept  at  high  tension, 
and,  oblivious  as  the  passengers  may  be  as  to  the  danger, 
actual  and  imaginary,  the  risks  incurred  are  never  for  a 
moment  lost  sight  of  by  the  two  men  on  the  locomotive. 
The  man  in  the  signal  tower  has  an  equal  responsibility. 
In  some  respects  the  burden  upon  his  shoulders  is  even 
greater,  because  he  has  the  fate  of  perhaps  a  score  of 
trains  in  his  hands,  with  the  lives  of  hundreds  of  passen- 
gers. Now  and  then,  when  the  wrong  lever  has  been 
pulled  and  a  train  is  wrecked,  we  hear  of  a  signal  man 
sleeping  at  his  post,  but  few  of  us  stop  to  thinK  how  many 
thousand  times  a  day  the  right  lever  is  pulled,  and  how 
exceptional  is  the  lapse  from  duty.  There  are  heroes  of 
the  sea,  and  there  are  heroes  of  the  battle-field,  but  there 
are  ten  times  as  many  heroes  who  perform  their  deeds  of 
heroism  on  locomotives,  in  switch  and  signal  towers,  and 
in  railroad  yards.  It  may  not  be  fashionable  to  compare 
these  savers  of  human  life  with  those  who  destroy  life  on 
the  battle-field,  but  the  valor  and  endurance  of  the  former 


298  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

is  at  least  as  conspicuous  and  meritorious  as  the  daring  and 
suffering  of  the  latter. 

In  "Scribner's  Magazine"  there  recently  appeared  a 
most  graphic  description  of  a  two-storied,  square  signal 
tower  at  "Sumach  Junction." 

"This  tower,"  says  the  contributor  to  the  magazine 
named,  "had  two  rows  of  windows  on  all  sides  and 
stood  at  the  intersection  of  branches.  At  this  point 
the  trunk  line  resolved  itself  from  four  tracks  into  two,  and 
here  the  gravel  track,  which  looked  as  if  it  had  been  laid 
by  a  palsied  contractor,  left  the  main  line  and  respecta- 
bility behind,  and  hobbled  out  of  sight  behind  the  signal 
station  with  an  intoxicated  air.  Beneath  the  tower,  to  the 
right  hand,  a  double-tracked  branch  tapped  a  fertile  coun- 
try beyond  the  sand  hills.  And  beneath  the  signal  tower, 
to  the  left,  a  single-tracked  branch,  only  a  mile  long, 
brought  South  Sumach,  one  of  those  tiresome  towns  that 
manufacture  on  water-power,  in  touch  with  the  middle 
man.  This  petty  branch  (as  if  the  case  had  been  with 
petty  people),  made  more  trouble  than  all  the  rest  of  the 
lines  put  together.  The  signal  man  found  this  out. 

"So  Sumach  Junction  had  its  place  in  the  world,  and, 
perhaps,  it  was  a  more  important  one  than  that  of  many  a 
complacent  and  opulent  suburb.  The  heart  of  this  little 
community  did  not  center,  as  a  thoughtless  person  might 
suppose,  in  the  church,  or  the  commandery,  or  the 
grocery  store,  or  the  school,  but  in  the  signal  tower. 
It  was  the  pulse  of  the  section.  It  was  the  life- 
blood  of  thousands  of  unconcerned  travelers,  whose 
lives  and  happiness  depended  on  the  intelligent  vigi- 
lance of  three  men.  These  three  took  turns  up  there 
in  the  tower,  locking  and  unlocking  switches  and  signals 


HEROES  OF  THE  IROX  HORSE.         299 

until  one  might  expect  them  to  faint  for  dizziness  and 
confusion.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  in  the  signal  tower, 
when  one  of  the  three  wanted  a  day  off,  for  the  other  two 
to  double  up  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  As  long  as  the  service 
was  well  performed,  the  Superintendent  asked  no  ques- 
tions." 

The  story  came  to  be  written  on  account  of  the  pro- 
longed sickness  of  one  of  the  three,  which  compelled  the 
remaining  two  to  remain  on  duty  until  theii*  eyes  were 
often  dim,  and  their  brain  power  exhausted.  One  of  these 
finally  worked  until  nature  overcame  force  of  habit  and 
reliability,  and  a  collision  would  have  resulted  but  for  the 
returning  consciousness  of  the  overworked  and  thoroughly 
exhausted  man. 

While  this  hero  of  everyday  life  slept,  or  rather  lost 
the  power  of  thought  from  extreme  exhaustion,  the  heavy 
snow  storm  which  was  making  the  night  doubly  dark  had 
so  blocked  the  machinery  of  the  semaphore  that  it  refused 
to  respond  to  the  desperate  efforts  of  the  weary  signal 
man,  who  heard  a  freight  train  approaching,  and  knew 
that  unless  it  was  flagged  at  once  it  would  dash  into  the 
rear  end  of  a  passenger  train,  which  was  standing  in  sight 
of  the  signal  box,  with  its  locomotive  disabled.  Finally, 
abandoning  the  attempt  to  move  the  lever,  he  rushed  out 
into  the  night  and  forced  his  way  through  the  snow  in  the 
direction  of  the  approaching  train.  He  was  in  time  to 
avert  the  collision  that  appeared  inevitable,  but  in  his 
excitement  overlooked  his  own  danger,  and  was  knocked 
down  and  terribly  injured  by  the  train  he  flagged. 

Within  the  last  year  the  largest  railroad  station  in  the 
world,  in  the  yards  of  which  there  is  an  immense  amount 
of  traffic,  and  from  whose  signal  towers  are  worked 


300  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

switches  and  signals  innumerable,  has  been  opened.  This 
immense  station  is  situated  at  St.  Louis.  It  covers  an 
area  of  about  twelve  acres,  and  is  larger  than  the  two 
magnificent  depots  of  Philadelphia  combined.  The  second 
largest  railroad  station  in  the  world  is  at  Frankfort, 
Germany.  The  third  in  order  of  size  is  the  Reading 
Station  at  Philadelphia.  The  four  next  largest  being  the 
Pennsylvania  Depot  at  Philadelphia,  St.  Pancras  Station 
in  London,  England,  the  Pennsylvania  Depot  in  Jersey 
City,  and  the  Grand  Central  Depot  in  New  York  City. 

We  have  all  heard  of  peculiar  thefts  from  time  to  time, 
and  the  records  of  stolen  stoves  and  other  heavy  articles 
seem  to  show  that  few  things  are  sufficiently  bulky  to  be 
absolutely  secure  from  the  peculator  or  kleptomaniac.  But 
to  steal  a  train  seems  to  the  average  mind  an  impossibility, 
though  under  some  conditions  it  is  even  easy.  During  the 
crusade  of  the  Common wealers  in  1894,  more  than  one 
train  was  stolen.  All  that  was  required  was  a  sufficient 
force  to  overcome  the  train  crew  at  some  small  station  or 
water  tank,  and  one  or  two  men  who  knew  how  to  turn  on 
steam  and  keep  up  a  fire. 

History  tells  of  a  much  more  remarkable  case  of  train 
stealing,  with  events  of  startling  bravery  and  hair-breadth 
escapes  connected  with  it.  We  refer  to  the  great  railroad 
raid  in  Georgia  during  the  year  1862,  when  a  handful  of 
intrepid  heroes  invaded  a  hostile  country,  deliberately  stole 
a  locomotive,  and  carne  within  an  ace  of  getting  it  safely 
delivered  into  the  hands  of  their  friends. 

A  monument,  surmounted  by  the  model  of  a  loco- 
motive, was  erected  four  or  five  years  ago  to  commemorate 
an  event  without  precedent  and  without  imitation.  The 
story  of  the  raid  reads  like  fiction,  but  every  incident  we 


HEROES  OF  THE  IRON  HORSE.    301 

record  is  one  of  fact.  Every  danger  narrated  was  run. 
Every  difficulty  was  actually  encountered,  and  the  ultimate 
failure  came  about  exactly  as  stated. 

Generals  Grant  and  Buell  were  at  the  time  marching 
towards  Corinth,  Mississippi,  where  a  junction  was  to  be 
made.  The  Confederate  troops  were  concentrating  at  the 
same  point,  and  there  was  immediate  trouble  brewing. 
General  Mitchell,  who  was  in  command  of  one  of  Buell' s 
divisions,  had  advanced  as  far  as  Huntsville,  Alabama,  and 
another  detachment  had  got  within  thirty  miles  of  Chatta- 
nooga. It  was  deemed  advisable,  and  even  necessary,  to 
cut  off  the  railway  communication  between  Chattanooga 
and  the  East  arid  South,  and  James  J.  Andrews  was 
selected  by  General  Buell  for  the  task. 

Andrews  picked  out  twenty-four  spirits  like  unto  him- 
self, who  entered  the  enemy's  territory  in  ordinary 
Southern  dress,  and  without  any  other  arms  than  re- 
volvers. 

Their  purpose  was  to  capture  a  train,  burn  the  bridges 
on  the  northern  part  of  the  Georgia  State  Railroad,  and 
also  on  the  East  Tennessee  Railroad,  where  it  approaches 
the  Georgia  State  line,  thus  completely  isolating  Chatta- 
nooga, which  was  then  virtually  ungarrisoned.  These  men 
rendezvoused  at  Marietta,  Georgia,  more  than  200  miles 
from  the  point  of  departure,  having  (with  the  exception  of 
five,  who  were  captured  en  route  or  belated)  made  their 
way  thither  in  small  detachments  of  three  and  four.  The 
railroad  at  Marietta  was  found  to  be  crowded  with  trains, 
and  many  soldiers  were  among  the  passengers. 

After  much  reconnoitering,  it  was  determined  to  cap- 
ture a  train  at  Big  Shanty,  a  few  miles  north  of  Marietta, 
and,  purchasing  tickets  for  different  stations  along  the 


302  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

line  in  the  direction    of    Chattanooga,    the    party,  which 
included  two  engineers,  reached  Big  Shanty. 

While  the  conductor,  the  engineer,  and  most  of  the 
passengers  were  at  breakfast,  the  train  was  seized,  and  be- 
ing properly  manned,  after  the  uncoupling  of  the  passenger 
cars,  was  started  on  its  fierce  race  northward.  Think  of 
the  exploit — twenty  men,  with  a  hostile  army  about  them, 
setting  out  thus  bravely  on  a  long  and  difficult  road  crowded 
with  enemies. 

Of  course  the  theft  of  the  train  produced  great 
consternation,  but  the  captors  got  away  in  safety,  stop- 
ping frequently  for  the  purpose  of  tearing  up  the  track, 
cutting  telegraph  wires,  etc.  Andrews  informed  the  people 
at  the  stations  that  he  was  an  agent  of  General  Beauregard, 
running  an  impressed  powder  train  through  to  Corinth, 
and  generally  this  silenced  their  doubts,  though  some 
acted  suspiciously. 

The  first  serious  obstacle  was  met  at  Kingston,  thirty 
miles  on  the  journey.  Here  the  captors  and  their  train 
were  obliged  to  wait  until  three  trains  south-bound  passed  by. 
For  an  hour  and  five  minutes  they  remained  in  this  most 
critical  position,  sixteen  men  being  shut  up  in  the  box-car, 
personating  Beauregard' s  ammunition.  Just  as  the  train 
got  away  from  Kingston  two  pursuers  appeared,  being 
Captain  W.  A.  Fuller,  the  conductor  of  the  stolen  train, 
and  an  officer  who  happened  to  be  aboard  of  it  at  the  time  it 
was  run  out  from  Big  Shanty.  Finding  a  hand-car,  they 
had  manned  it  and  pushed  forward  until  they  had  found 
an  old  locomotive  standing  with  steam  up  on  a  side  track, 
which  they  immediately  loaded  with  soldiers  and  hurried 
forward  with  flying  wheels  in  pursuit,  until  Kingston  was 
reached,  where  they  took  the  engine  and  a  car  of  one  of 


HEROES  OF  THE  IE  ON  HORSE.         303 

the  waiting  trains,  and  with  forty  armed  Confederates 
continued  the  journey. 

It  was  now  nip  and  tuck,  with  one  engine  rushing 
wildly  after  another.  To  wreck  the  pursuing  train  was 
the  only  tangible  hope  of  the  fugitives,  who  stopped  again 
and  again  in  order  to  loosen  a  rail.  Had  they  been 
equipped  with  proper  tools  they  could  have  done  this  easily, 
but  as  it  was,  they  simply  lost  precious  time.  Once  they 
were  almost  overtaken  by  the  pursuing  engine,  and  com- 
pelled to  set  out  again  at  a  terrible  speed.  At  one  point 
at  Adairsville,  they  narrowly  escaped  running  into  an  ex- 
press train.  Fuller,  the  conductor  of  the  stolen  train,  and 
his  companions,  being  arrested  by  the  obstructions  of  the 
track,  left  their  engine  behind  and  started  on  foot,  finally 
taking  possession  of  the  express  passed  at  Adairsville,  and 
turning  it  back  in  pursuit. 

When  Calhoun  was  passed,  the  trains  were  within  sight 
of  each  other.  The  track  was  believed  to  be  clear  to 
Chattanooga,  and  if  only  the  pursuing  train  could  be 
wrecked,  the  end  would  be  gained.  Again  the  lack  of 

« 

tools  hampered  the  daring  little  band.  They  made  desper- 
ate effort  to  break  a  rail,  but  the  pursuers  were  upon  them 
before  they  had  accomplished  it,  and  Andrews  hurried  on 
his  engine,  dropping  one  car  and  then  another,  which 
were  picked  up  and  pushed  ahead,  by  the  pursuers,  to 
Resaca  Station. 

Both  engines  were,  at  the  time,  at  the  highest  rate 
of  speed.  Andrews  at  last  broke  off  the  end  of  his 
last  box  car  and  dropped  crossties  on  the  track  as 
he  ran.  Several  times  he  almost  lifted  a  rail,  but  each 
time  the  coming  of  the  Confederates  within  rifle  range 
compelled  him  to  desist. 


304  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

A  participant  in  the  feat,  in  his  narrative  of  the  affair, 
published  in  "Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War,"  by 
the  Century  Company,  says: 

"Thus  we  sped  on,  mile  after  mile,  in  this  fearful 
chase,  around  curves  and  past  stations  in  seemingly  endless 
perspective.  Whenever  we  lost  sight  of  the  enemy 
beyond  a  curve,  we  hoped  that  some  of  our  obstructions 
had  been  effective  in  throwing  him  from  the  track,  and 
that  we  would  see  him  no  more ;  but  at  each  long  reach 
backward  the  smoke  was  again  seen,  and  the  shrill  whistle 
was  like  the  scream  of  a  bird  of  prey.  The  time  could  not 
have  been  so  very  long,  for  the  terrible  speed  was  rapidly 
devouring  the  distance,  but  with  our  nerves  strained  to  the 
highest  tension,  each  minute  seemed  an  hour.  On  several 
occasions  the  escape  of  the  enemy  from  wreck  seemed 
little  less  than  miraculous.  At  one  point  a  rail  was  placed 
across  the  track  so  skillfully  on  the  curve,  that  it  was  not 
seen  till  the  train  ran  upon  it  at  full  speed.  Fuller  says 
that  they  were  terribly  jolted,  and  seemed  to  bounce 
altogether  from  the  track,  but  lighted  on  the  rail  in  safety. 
Some  of  the  Confederates  wished  to  leave  a  train  which 
was  driven  at  such  a  reckless  rate,  but  their  wishes  were 
not  gratified." 

At  last,  when  hope  was  well  nigh  exhausted,  a  final  at- 
tempt was  made.  Additional  obstructions  were  thrown  on 
the  track,  the  side  and  end  boards  of  the  last  car  were  torn 
into  shreds,  all  available  fuel  was  piled  upon  it,  and  blazing 
brands  were  brought  back  from  the  engine.  Reaching  a 
long,  covered  bridge,  the  car,  which  was  now  fairly  ablaze, 
was  uncoupled ;  but  before  the  bridge  was  fully  on  fire  the 
pursuers  came  upon  it,  pushed  right  into  the  smoke,  and 
ran  the  burning  car  before  them  to  the  next  side  track. 


Climbing  Pike's  Peak  by  Rail. 


HEROES  OF  THE  IRON  HORSE.         307 

So  this  expedient  also  failed.  With  no  car  left,  no  fuel — 
every  scrap  of  it  having  been  thrown  into  the  engine  or 
upon  the  burning  car — and  with  no  means  of  further 
obstructing  the  track,  the  pursued  party  were  reduced  to 
desperation,  and  as  a  last  resource,  when  within  eighteen 
miles  of  Chattanooga,  abandoned  the  train  and  dispersed 
to  the  woods,  each  to  save  himself. 

The  good  old  locomotive,  now  feeble  and  useless,  was 
left.  According  to  some  accounts  it  was  reversed,  in  order 
to  cause  a  collision  with  the  on-coming  train,  but  according 
to  others,  the  steam  was  exhausted,  and  the  engine  just 
stopped  for  want  of  power.  However  this  may  have  been, 
the  hunters  of  the  train  become  at  once  hunters  of  the 
train  steal ers,  several  of  whom  were  captured  the  same 
day,  and  all  but  two  within  a  week.  Two  of  those  who 
had  failed  to  connect  with  the  party  were  also  captured. 
Being  in  citizen's  dress  within  the  enemy's  lines,  the  whole 
party  were  held  as  spies.  A  court-martial  was  formed  and 
the  leader  and  seven  out  of  the  remaining  twenty-two  were 
condemned  and  executed.  The  others  were  never  brought 
to  trial.  Of  the  remaining  fourteen,  eight  succeeded  by 
a  bold  effort  in  making  an  escape  from  Atlanta,  and  ulti- 
mately reaching  the  North.  The  other  six  failed  in  this 
effort,  and  remained  prisoners  until  March,  1863,  when 
they  were  exchanged. 

All  sorts  of  stories  have  been  heard  from  time  to  time 
concerning  the  supernatural  side  of  railroading,  and  the 
peculiar  and  apparently  hidden  antics  which  locomotives 
occasionally  are  guilty  of.  The  following  story  is  well 
worth  reproducing,  and  may  serve  as  an  illustration  of 
hundreds  of  others.  It  was  told  by  an  engineer,  who 
worked  on  the  Utah  &  Northern  Railroad  years  ago,  before 

18 


308  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

that  road  became  part  of  the  Union  Pacific  system.  The 
road  was  very  rough,  and  save  for  a  long  stretch  of  sage 
brush  along  the  Snake  River  north  of  Pocatello,  it  ran  in 
canons,  over  mountains,  and  through  heavy  cuts  of  clay, 
which  was  often  washed  down  on  to  the  tracks  by  the 
spring  rains.  It  was,  as  it  is  now,  a  railroad  rushed  with 
business. 

It  was  the  only  line  into  Butte  City,  which  had  been 
struck  a  short  time  before,  and  was  then  giving  promise  of 
its  future  distinction  as  the  greatest  mining  camp  in  the 
world.  The  shipments  of  gold  and  bullion  were  very 
heavy,  and  all  the  money  for  the  banks  in  Butte  and 
Helena  was  sent  over  this  road.  There  were  no  towns 
along  the  line.  The  only  stops  were  made  at  water-tanks, 
and  such  eating-houses  as  the  railroad  company  had  built 
at  long  intervals.  It  was  a  rough,  hard  run,  and  was  made 
especially  lonely  by  the  uninhabited  stretches  of  sand  and 
sage  brush,  and  the  echoes  from  the  high  granite  walls  of 
the  narrow  canon.  It  was  a  dangerous  run  besides.  The 
James  gang  of  train  robbers  and  the  Younger  brothers 
had  been  operating  so  successfully  in  Missouri,  Kansas  and 
Minnesota  that  other  bandits  had  moved  West  to  attempt 
similar  operations. 

Finally,  word  came  from  the  general  offices  of  Wells, 
Fargo  &  Co.  that  several  train  robbers  had  been  been  in 
Denver,  and  might  work  their  way  north  in  the  hope  of 
either  securing  gold  bullion  from  one  of  the  down  trains 
from  Butte,  or  money  in  exchange  on  an  up  train.  After 
detailing  these  conditions,  the  engineer  went  on. 

"We  got  a  new  manager  for  the  road,  an  Eastern  man, 
who  had  some  high  notions  about  conducting  railroad 
travel  on  what  he  called  a  modern  basis.  One  of  the  first 


HEROES  OF  THE  IRON  HORSE.         309 

results  of  his  management  was  a  train,  which  he  called  the 
'Mormon  Flyer,'  running  from  Butte  to  Salt  Lake,  and 
scheduled  on  the  time  card  to  run  forty  miles  an  hour. 
We  told  him  he  never  could  'make  that  time  on  a  rough 
mountain  road,  where  n  train  had  to  twist  around  caiion 
walls  like  a  cow  in  the  woods,  but  he  wouldn't  believe  it. 
He  said  that  if  a  train  could  run  forty-five  miles  an  hour  in 
the  East  it  could  run  forty  on  that  road.  The  train  was 
made  up  with  a  heavy  'hog'  engine,  a  baggage  car,  express 
car  and  two  sleepers.  The  first  train  down  jumped  the  track 
twice,  and  the  up  train  from  Salt  Lake  was  wrecked  and 
nearly  thrown  into  the  Snake  River.  Then  the  trains  ran 
from  four  to  six  hours  behind  time,  and  the  people  and 
the  papers  began  to  jest  about  the  'Mormon  Flyer,'  and  ask 
for  a  return  of  the  old  Salisbury  coach  line.  The  manager 
complained  from  time  to  time,  and  said  it  was  all  the  fault 
of  the  engineers;  said  that  we  did  not  know  our  business, 
and  that  he  would  get  some  men  from  the  East  who  would 
make  the  'Mormon  Flyer'  fly  on  time. 

"Well,  one  evening  in  Butte  I  had  made  up  my  train  and 
was  waiting  for  orders,  when  the  station-master  handed  two 
telegrams  to  me.  One  was  from  the  manager  at  Salt  Lake, 
and  read :  'You  bring  the  'Flyer'  in  on  time  to-morrow,  or 
take  two  weeks'  notice.'  The  other  was  from  the  Wells, 
Fargo  &  Co.  agent,  at  Salt  Lake,  and  read:  'No.  3  (the 
north-bound  'Flyer')  held  up  this  afternoon  near  Beaver 
Canon.  Treasure  box  taken  and  passengers  robbed.'  The 
best  description  of  the  robbers  that  could  be  had,  was 
given.  I  showed  both  telegrams  to  the  conductor,  who 
held  the  train  until  he  could  get  a  dozen  Winchesters  from 
the  town.  In  the  meantime  I  had  put  the  fireman  on,  and 
we  put  the  finishing  touches  on  the  engine,  No.  38 — a  big, 


310  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

new  machine,  with  eight  drivers,  and  in  the  pink  ]of  con- 
dition. I  told  my  fireman  that  if  we  couldn't  pull  her 
through  on  time  we  would  leave  the  train  on  the  side  of 
the  road,  and  thus  teach  a  trick  or  two  to  the  man  who 
wanted  to  run  a  mountain  road  on  Eastern  methods.  I 
pulled  that  train  out  of  Butte  as  though  it  had  been 
shot  out  of  a  gun,  and  when  we  reached  the  flat  below 
Silver  Bar  Canon  I  had  her  well  set  and  flying  like  a  scared 
wolf.  The  train  was  shaking  from  side  to  side  like  a  ship 
at  sea,  and  we  were  skipping  past  the  foothills  so  fast  that 
they  looked  like  fence  posts.  The  cab  shook  so  that  my 
fireman  couldn't  stand  to  fill  the  fire-box,  so  he  dumped 
the  coal  on  the  floor  and  got  down  on  all  fours  and  shoveled 
it  in.  No.  38  seemed  to  know  that  she  was  wanted  to  hold 
down  my  job,  and  quivered  like  a  race  horse  at  the  finish. 
We  made  up  the  lost  time  in  the  first  100  miles,  and  got  to 
Beaver  Canon  with  a  few  minutes  to  spare. 

"It  was  when  I  slowed  her  up  a  bit  in  the  canon  that  I 
noticed  something  the  matter  with  her.  She  dropped  her 
steady  gait  and  began  to  jerk  and  halt.  The  fire-box 
clogged  and  the  steam  began  to  drop,  and  when  I  reached 
a  fairly  long  piece  of  road  in  the  dark  and  silent  canon, 
she  refused  to  recover.  She  spit  out  the  steam  and 
gurgled  and  coughed,  and  nothing  that  I  could  do  would 
coax  her  along.  I  told  the  fireman  that  the  old  girl  was 
quitting  us,  and  that  we  might  as  well  steer  for  new  jobs. 
He  did  his  best  to  get  her  into  action,  but  she  was  bound 
to  have  her  own  way.  She  kept  losing  speed  every  second, 
and  wheezed  and  puffed  like  a  freight  engine  on  a  moun- 
tain grade,  and  moved  about  as  fast.  Finally,  we  came  to 
a  corner  of  a  sharp  turn,  almost  at  the  mouth  of  the  canon, 
and  then  No.  38  gave  one  loud,  defiant  snort  and  stopped. 


HEROES  OF  THE  IRON  HORSE.         311 

"  *  She's  done  for  now,'  I  said  to  the  fireman,  and  we  got 
out  of  the  cab  with  our  lanterns. 

"The  cylinder-heads  were  almost  opposite  a  high  rock 
at  the  turns.  Well,  when  we  got  there,  what  do  you  think 
we  saw?  Not  a  hundred  yards  ahead  of  the  mouth  of  the 
canon,  and  as  plain  as  day  in  the  moonlight,  w^s  a  pile  of 
rocks  on  the  track.  On  either  side  vTa,s  a  bunch  of  half  a 
dozen  masked  men,  with  Winchester  rifles  half  raised. 
Ten  rods  further  on  were  a  dozen  or  more  horses  picketed 
at  a  few  cottonwood  trees. 

"Well,  you  bet  your  life  we  couldn't  get  back  to  that 
train  too  quick.  It  was  not  midnight,  and  in  two  minutes 
we  had  the  crew  and  passengers  out  with  enough  guns  and 
revolvers  to  furnish  the  Chinese  army.  Passengers,  in 
those  days,  and  in  that  country,  carried  guns.  When  the 
robbers  saw  that  the  train  had  stopped  they  started 
forward,  to  be  met  by  a  rattling  fire.  One  of  them 
dropped,  but  the  rest  ran  for  their  horses  and  got  away. 

"Now,  then,  you  can't  tell  me  that  there  isn't  some- 
thing in  an  engine  besides  machinery,"  concluded  the 
engineer,  as  he  turned  to  the  other  members  of  the 
Roundhouse  Club. 

"The  man  who  says  there  isn't,  is  a  fool,"  was  the 
answer  from  one,  and  the  others  nodded  their  heads  in 
approval. 


CHAPTEE  XVII. 

A    RAILROAD    TO    THE    CLOUDS. 

Early  History  of  Manitou  —  Zebulon  Pike's  Important  Discovery  —  A 
Young  Medicine  Man's  Peril  and  Final  Triumph  —  A  Health 
Resort  in  Years  Gone  By  —  The  Garden  of  the  Gods  —  The  Rail- 
road up  Pike's  Peak  —  Early  Failures  and  Final  Success  —  The 
Most  Remarkable  Road  in  the  World  —  Riding  Above  the  Clouds. 


is  a  name  which  conjures  up  reminis- 
cences  of  legend  and  history,  and  it  also  reminds 
the  traveler  of  some  of  the  most  remarkable  scenes  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  It  has  been  said  that  the  man  who 
knows  how  to  appreciate  natural  grandeur  and  beauty,  can 
spend  six  months  in  the  vicinity  of  Manitou,  and  then  come 
back  six  month  later  to  find  undiscovered  joys  and  treasures 
of  beauty  on  every  side. 

The  earliest  reliable  records  concerning  this  spot  date 
back  to  the  year  1806,  when  Major  Zebulon  Pike  discovered 
what  he  called  the  Great  Snow  Mountain.  This,  one 
of  the  loftiest  of  the  Rockies,  is  now  known  as  Pike's  Peak 
after  its  discoverer,  or  at  any  rate  after  the  man  who  first 
described  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  public. 

It  is  on  record  that  when  Major  Pike  was  crossing  Col- 
orado, nearly  a  hundred  years  ago,  he  saw  on  the  horizon 
what  he  regarded  as  a  misty  cloud.  When  he  finally  real- 
ized that  there  was  a  mountain  in  front  of  him,  he  was  at 
least  a  hundred  miles  away  from  it,  and  there  were  two  or 
three  smaller  hills  to  be  crossed  before  reaching  it.  After 
marching  for  over  a  week  the  party  reached  the  Cheyenne 
Mountain,  which  they  believed  was  the  ascent  of  the  great 

(3121) 


A  fiAILItOAD  TO  THE  CLOUDS.         313 

peak,  a  theory  which  was  soon  disproved.  Manitou  is 
at  the  foot  of  this  great  mountain.'  It  was  first  described 
at  length  by  an  English  tourist  who  visited  the  Manitou 
Springs  just  half  a  century  ago.  He  traveled  alone,  and 
exhibited  not  only  an  immense  amount  of  bravery,  but  also 
unlimited  judgment  in  evading  the  attacks  of  wild  beasts 
and  equally  savage  Indians. 

His  description  of  the  trip  is  full  of  great  interest.  He 
describes  how  a  band  of  mountain  sheep  advanced  to  the 
edge  of  an  overhanging  precipice  to  gaze  upon  the  in- 
truder, and  how,  a  moment  later,  a  herd  of  black  tailed 
deer  ran  in  front  of  him,  with  that  contempt  of  danger 
seen  only  in  animals  which  have  not  come  in  contact  with 
human  beings  or  modern  weapons.  The  birds,  he  tells  us, 
were  indifferent  as  to  his  presence.  They  sang  almost 
within  arm's  reach,  and  their  rich  plumage  completely 
fascinated  him.  He  continued  in  his  hunter's  paradise 
until  he  accidentally  stumbled  upon  an  Indian  camp.  No 
Indians  were  present,  but  the  smouldering  camp-fires 
warned  him  that  they  were  not  far  distant.  Later,  he  saw 
two  Indians,  who  were  evidently  Arapahoes,  carrying  a  deer 
between  them,  and  he  knew  that  the  delightful  hunting  he 
had  promised  himself  would  not  be  forthcoming. 

He  was  shortly  afterwards  captured  in  a  prairie  fire,  in 
which  he  was  in  great  danger  of  being  destroyed ;  nothing 
but  the  daring  of  his  horse  saved  his  life.  He  had  heard 
from  the  friendly  Indians  he  had  met  on  his  march  that 
the  Great  Spirit  had  endowed  the  waters  of  the  Springs  of 
Manitou  with  miraculous  healing  powers,  and  he  drank 
freely  from  the  pure  springs.  These  springs  made  Manr 
tou  a  veritable  Mecca  for  Indians  of  the  West  and  South- 
west for  many  generations  before  the  white  men  discovered 


314  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

them.  Pilgrimages  were  made  across  mountains  and 
rivers  of  great  magnitude,  and  when  an  Indian  chief 
showed  signs  of  failing  health,  and  was  not  benefited  by 
the  machinations  of  medicine  men,  he  was  generally  car- 
ried to  Manitou,  no  matter  how  far  the  journey  might  be, 
or  how  great  were  the  obstacles  to  be  overcome. 

Among  the  many  stories  told  concerning  journeys  of 
weeks'  and  even  months'  duration,  one  is  exceptionally 
vivid,  and  is  evidently  founded  on  fact,  although  supersti- 
tion has  surrounded  the  facts  with  so  much  coloring  that 
they  are  hard  to  discover.  The  story  runs  that  in  days 
long  gone  by,  a  great  chief,  who  had  conquered  every 
tribe  of  whose  existence  he  was  aware,  fell  sick  and  could 
not  be  benefited  by  the  medicine  men,  who  were  sum- 
moned from  every  direction.  A  number  of  these  unfor- 
tunate physicians  were  put  to  death  as  a  penalty  for  their 
failure  to  restore  health  to  the  dying  chief.  Finally,  there 
were  very  few  medicine  men  remaining  in  the  vicinity ; 
those  who  had  not  been  decapitated  having  proved  their 
strong  desire  for  further  life  by  discreetly  retiring  to  parts 
unknown. 

One  day  tidings  were  brought  the  chief  of  a  young 
medicine  man  in  a  neighboring  tribe  who  had  been  over- 
looked by  the  searchers,  but  who  had  been  phenomenally 
successful  in  wooing  back  health  and  prolonging  life.  The 
tribe  had  long  since  been  reduced  to  a  condition  of  subjec- 
tion, and  the  said  chief  sent  a  detachment  of  his  braves, 
with  instructions  to  bring  back  the  medicine  man  alive  or 
dead. 

The  young  man,  who  had  been  expecting  a  summons 
of  this  kind,  did  not  display  the  alarm  anticipated.  Even 
when  he  was  told  that  the  old  chief  was  certainly  dying,  and 


A  RAILROAD  TO  THE  CLOUDS.         315 

that  it  was  impossible  to  help  him  in  any  way,  he  main- 
tained his  stolid  indifference  and  merely  smiled. 

He  carried  with  him  a  primitive  vessel,  filled  with  some 
mysterious  fluid,  upon  the  virtues  of  which  he  had  implicit 
reliance.  When  he  reached  the  camp  in  which  the  sick 
chief  lay,  he  was  summoned  immediately  before  the  ailing 
autocrat.  That  individual  stated  his  symptoms,  and  then, 
instead  of  asking,  as  we  are  apt  to  ask  our  physicians, 
whether  there  was  any  medicine  available  for  them,  he 
told  the  young  medicine  man  that  if  no  improvement  was 
effected  within  a  few  days  there  would  be  a  funeral  in  the 
village,  and  there  would  be  one  less  medicine  man  in  the 
vicinity. 

This  somewhat  startling  introduction  did  not  disconcert 
the  young  man,  who  poured  out  a  liberal  dose  of  the  fluid 
he  had  brought  with  him,  and  made  the  old  chief  drink  it. 
During  the  night  he  repeated  the  doses  several  times,  and 
on  the  following  day  he  kept  up  the  treatment.  To  every 
one's  astonishment  the  blood  began  to  flow  again  in  the 
veins  of  the  once  invincible  chief,  and  those  who  had  been 
pitying  the  young  medicine  man  began  to  congratulate  him 
on  his  triumph.  When,  after  a  few  days,  the  improvement 
became  more  marked,  the  young  doctor  explained  to  the 
chief  that  the  water  he  had  given  him  had  been  brought 
from  springs  in  the  distant  mountains,  and  that  if  the 
chief  desired  to  obtain  another  lease  of  life,  he  must  visit 
those  springs  and  remain  there  for  some  weeks. 

With  the  enthusiasm  of  renewed  vigor,  the  old  man 
promptly  agreed  to  the  suggestion,  and  in  a  few  days 
arrangements  were  complete  for  a  grand  march  over  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  Manitou.  Tradition  tells  of  the 
splendor  of  the  march,  and  of  the  way  in  which  obstruc- 


316  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

tions  and  hindrances  were  overcome.  Finally,  the  great 
mountain  was  seen  in  the  distance,  and  a  few  days  later  a 
halt  was  made  at  the  springs.  Here  the  old  chief  was 
given  a  regular  treatment,  and  in  a  few  days  he  was  able 
to  walk  as  vigorously  as  ever.  Finally,  he  returned  to  his 
tribe,  not  only  renewed  in  health,  but  also  renewed  in 
youth.  The  records  of  his  race  state  that  his  appearance 
was  entirely  changed,  and  that,  instead  of  looking  like  an 
old  man,  his  features  were  those  of  a  youth  in  his  twenties. 
The  chief  lived  many  years,  and  finally  died  in  battle. 

The  fame  of  his  cure  naturally  spread  abroad  with 
great  rapidity.  The  old  man  was  so  well  known  that  he 
became  a  walking  testimonial  of  the  merits  of  the  springs, 
and  expeditions  without  number  were  in  consequence  made 
to  them.  White  people,  as  they  came  in  contact  with  the 
Indians  of  the  Far  West,  heard  of  the  springs  from 
time  to  time  and  of  this  wonderful  cure.  By  many  the 
stories  were  confounded  with  the  legends  concerning  the 
search  of  Ponce  de  Leon  for  the  fountain  of  perpetual 
youth.  Later,  however,  more  thorough  investigation  was 
made,  and  for  more  than  a  generation  the  truth,  as  well  as 
the  legends  of  Manitou,  have  been  generally  known. 

As  a  result,  a  great  watering  place  has  sprung  up  on 
the  site  of  what  was  once  a  mysterious  resting  place  of  the 
Indians,  and  a  retreat  which  it  was  dangerous  to  enter. 
About  2,000  people  live  here,  and  during  the  season  there 
are  often  3,000  or  4,000  health-seekers  in  addition.  There 
is  a  grand  avenue  through  the  village  eighty  feet  wide  and 
well  kept.  Instead  of  being  laid  out  in  a  mathematically 
straight  line,  it  follows  the  meanderings  of  the  River 
Fontalne-qui-Bouille.  This  feature  gives  it  a  novel  as 
well  as  a  delightful  appearance.  There  is  also  a  little 


A  It  AIL  BO  AD  TO  THE  CLOUD  8.         317 

park,  which  possesses  features  not  to  be  found  in  the 
recreation  grounds  of  large  cities,  and  there  is  a  foot-path 
known  as  Lover's  Lane,  which  is  so  romantic  in  its  appear- 
ance that  it  is  obviously  well  known. 

The  springs  of  Manitou  are  naturally  the  most  interest- 
ing feature  of  the  place.  The  Shoshone  Spring,  in  the 
center  of  the  village,  is,  perhaps,  the  best  known.  The 
Navajo  Spring  is  but  a  few  yards  distant,  and  is  consid- 
erably larger.  The  Manitou  Spring  itself  is  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  and  is  covered  over  with  a  very  elegant 
spring-house.  The  Iron  Ute  Spring  is  in  Engelman's 
Canon  or  glen,  and  is  regarded  by  many  as  the  best  of  all. 
Caves  and  canons  innumerable  abound  in  every  direction. 
The  Manitou  Grand  Canon  is  within  two  miles  of  the 
village.  It  presents  the  appearance  of  a  natural  mansion, 
with  rooms  several  hundred  feet  long  and  high.  The 
natural  formations  of  the  peculiar  rocks  present  bewilder- 
ing combinations  of  galleries,  columns  and  frescoes.  Here 
is  to  be  seen  the  wonderful  stalactite  organ.  This, 
according  to  many,  is  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world. 
It  consists  of  a  number  of  thin  stalactites  of  varying  powers 
of  reverberation,  and  these  play  delightful  tunes  or  at 
least  tones. 

One  of  the  great  objects  of  a  trip  to  Manitou  is  to  gain 
a  sight  of  the  world-renowned,  but  singularly  named, 
Garden  of  the  Gods.  The  most  direct  road  to  reach  it 
from  the  village  is  by  way  of  Manitou  Avenue  and  Buena 
Vista  Drive,  the  latter  being  a  well-traveled  road,  which 
enters  the  avenue  on  the  left,  about  a  mile  from  the  town, 
as  one  advances  towards  Colorado  City.  The  entrance  to 
the  Garden  is  past  Balanced  Rock,  an  immense  boulder 
which  stands  directly  to  the  left  of  the  road,  poised  on 


318  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

such  a  slender  base  that  it  suggests  an  irregular  pyramid 
standing  on  its  apex.  To  the  right,  as  one  passes  this 
curious  formation,  is  a  steep  wall  of  stratified  stone,  draped 
with  clinging  vines,  and  overgrown  with  evergreens. 
Pausing  a  moment  on  the  brow  of  the  elevation  which  is 
reached  here,  one  can  look  down  into  the  valley  below  in 
which  the  Garden  lies.  To  the  west  are  the  mountains ;  to 
the  east  the  plains.  The  road  which  winds  through  the 
valley  is  a  pleasant  way.  One's  eyes  and  mind  are  kept 
busy  beholding  and  recording  the  interesting  views  which 
here  abound. 

No  one  knows  why  this  valley  was  named  "The  Garden 
of  the  Gods."  There  is  nothing  especially  garden-like  in 
its  appearance;  but,  doubtless  through  "apt  alliteration's 
artful  aid,"  the  name  has  become  greatly  popular,  and  it 
would  be  foolish  to  quarrel  with  it,  or  make  any  attempt 
to  change  it.  There  are,  however,  ample  suggestions  that 
Titanic  forces  have  been  at  work  here,  and  it  requires  but 
little  imagination  to  ascribe  these  innumerable  quaint 
sculpturings,  these  magnificent  architectural  rock  works, 
these  grand  and  imposing  temples,  not  made  with  hands, 
to  the  agencies  of  the  gods.  Here  are  to  be  found  carved 
in  the.  stone  by  those  cunning  instruments  of  the  hands  of 
Nature — the  wind,  the  rain,  the  sunbeam  and  the  frost — 
curious,  often  grotesque,  figures  irresistibly  suggestive  of 
forms  of  life.  Here  stands  a  statue  of  Liberty,  leaning  on 
her  shield,  with  the  conventional  Phrygian  cap  on  her 
head;  there  is  a  gigantic  frog  carved  in  sandstone; 
yonder  is  a  pilgrim,  staff  in  hand.  Groups  of  figures  in 
curious  attitudes  are  to  be  seen  on  every  hand. 

Stone  figures  of  the  lion,  the  seal  and  the  elephant  are 
all  found;  indeed,  a  lively  imagination  is  not  needed  to 


A  RAILROAD  TO  THE  CLOUDS.         319 

discover  in  this  Garden  of  the  Gods  an  endless  variety  of 
imitative  forms  of  human  beings,  of  birds  and  beasts  and 
reptiles.  These  figures  possess  a  curious  interest  and 
attract  wondering  attention ;  but  the  notable  and  majestic 
objects  here  are  the  " Great  Gateway"  and  the  " Cathedral 
Spires."  Two  lofty  tables  of  carnelian  colored  sand- 
stone, set  directly  opposite  each  other,  about  fifty  feet 
apart,  and  rising  to  a  height  of  330  feet,  form  the  portals 
of  the  far-famed  Gateway.  They  rise  from  perfectly 
level  ground,  and  present  a  strangely  impressive  spectacle. 

The  "Cathedral  Spires"  are  of  a  similar  character  to 
the  Gateway,  but  their  crests  are  sharply  splintered  into 
spire-like  pinnacles.  The  forms  assumed  by  the  rocks 
here  are  remarkable  indeed,  but  their  color  is  still  more 
remarkable.  No  sandstones  of  the  East  glow  with  such  a 
splendor  of  carnelian  hue.  The  striking  contrast  formed 
by  these  crimson  crags  outlined  against  the  deep  blue  sky, 
and  gilded  by  the  high,  white  light  of  the  unclouded  sun 
of  Colorado,  cannot  be  described. 

One  of  the  most  visited  prairie-dog  towns  is  close  to 
the  Garden  of  the  Gods.  It  is  interesting  to  the  tourist, 
and  is  generally  visited  on  the  return  from  the  Garden  to 
Manitou.  The  town  is  situated  on  the  road  which  passes 
through  the  great  Gateway  to  Colorado  City,  and  may  be 
seen  on  a  little  plateau  to  the  left.  There  are  a  great  num- 
ber of  little  hills  of  sand  and  gravel  thrown  up  by  the  dogs 
around  their  burrows.  Every  fine  day  they  can  be  seen 
at  work  around  their  dwellings,  or  bitting  on  their 
haunches  sunning  themselves,  and  chattering  gaily  with 
some  neighbor.  The  burrow  has  an  easy  incline  for  about 
two  feet,  then  descends  perpendicularly  for  five  or  six,  and 
after  that  branches  off  obliquely ;  it  is  often  as  large  as 


320  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

a  foot  in  diameter.  It  has  been  claimed  that  the  prairie- 
dog,  the  owl  and  the  rattlesnake  live  harmoniously 
together. 

Concerning  this,  Mr.  William  G.  Smith,  the  well- 
known  naturalist,  says:  "Impossible.  The  burrowing  owl 
will  generally  be  seen  where  dogs  congregate,  and  wher- 
ever the  ground  is  undermined  his  snakeship  is  apt  to  be 
found;  but  rest  assured  there  is  some  lively  'scattering'  to 
get  out  of  his  way  if  he  draws  his  slimy  carcass  into  their 
burrows.  The  dogs  have  no  desire  to  contest  his  right  to 
it,  and  give  him  all  the  room  he  wants. "  The  dogs  at 
home  are  neat  little  fellows,  and  allow  no  litter  to  accumu- 
late around  their  doors.  They  go  to  bed  early,  and  never 
go  around  disturbing  their  neighbors  before  daylight, 
r  Adjoining  the  Garden  is  a  region  of  ridges.  One  ridge 
leads  up  to  another,  and  that  to  a  third,  and  so  on.  This 
broken  country,  covered  with  pine  and  cedar,  and  clothed 
with  bunch  grass  and  grama,  makes  a  capital  tramping- 
ground,  especially  in  winter,  when  rabbits,  mountain 
grouse  and  sage-hens  are  numerous  enough  to  make  it 
worth  while  to  shoulder  a  gun. 

The  way  to  reach  the  ridges  is  to  take  the  road  to  the 
Garden  of  the  Gods,  and  follow  it  till  the  Quarry  Eoad  is 
reached.  Pursuing  the  latter  up  a  gorge,  and  then  turning 
to  the  left  on  a  branch  road,  which  zigzags  up  the  sides  of 
the  gorge,  one  soon  finds  oneself  on  the  top  of  a  ridge. 
The  rule  in  ridge-climbing  is  never  to  cross  a  gully,  but 
always  to  keep  on  top.  All  the  ridges  in  this  vicinity  con- 
verge to  the  main  ridge,  which  overlooks  Queen's  Canon. 
This  ridge  bends  to  the  northwest,  and  in  two  or  three 
miles  joins  a  still  higher  one,  which,  strange  to  say,  will 
be  found  to  overlook  the  Ute  Pass,  a  thousand  feet  above 


A  RAILROAD  TO  THE  CLOUDS.         321 

the  Fontaine  qui-Bouille,  which  flows  in  the  bottom  of  the 
canon  below — Eyrie,  the  site  of  a  private  residence — a 
most  interesting  glen,  but  not  open  to  the  public.  The 
character  of  the  monoliths  in  this  canon  is  more  remark- 
able even  than  those  of  the  Garden  of  the  Gods. 

The  Major  Domo  is  a  column  of  red  sandstone,  rising 
to  a  height  of  300  feet,  with  a  curious  swell  near  the  sum- 
mit, which  far  exceeds  in  diameter  the  base  of  the  shaft. 
It  looks  as  though  it  might  fall  at  any  moment  in  obedience 
to  the  laws  of  gravity,  and  it  is  not  exceeded  in  this  regard 
by  the  Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa.  There  is  another  glen  of  a 
similar  character,  about  two  miles  to  the  northwest,  which 
is  known  as  Blair  Athol.  It  is  a  beautiful  spot,  but, 
lacking  water,  has  never  been  used  as  a  dwelling  place.  It 
abounds  in  wildly  picturesque  scenery,  and  possesses  rock 
formations  of  strange  shapes  and  brilliant  colors.  There 
are  groves  of  magnificent  pines;  and  the  view  of  the 
distant  plains  stretching  to  the  eastern  horizon  is  unob- 
structed, and  of  great  interest. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  discovery  of  Pike's 
Peak.  At  the  summit  of  this  mountain,  14,147  feet  above 
the  sea  level,  there  is  a  little  signal  service  station,  which 
can  be  reached  by  railway.  When  the  mountain  was  first 
discovered  several  efforts  were  made  to  reach  the  summit, 
but  without  success.  Major  Pike  himself  recorded  his 
opinion  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  any  human  being 
to  ascend  to  the  summit.  In  these  days  of  engineering 
progress  there  is,  however,  no  such  word  as  "impossible." 
Several  enthusiasts  talked  as  far  back  as  twenty  years 
ago  of  the  possibility  of  a  railroad  to  the  very  summit 
of  the  once  inaccessible  peak,  and  fifteen  years  ago 
a  survey  was  made,  with  a  view  to  building  a  rail- 


322  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

road    up     the '  mountain,    by    a    series    of     curves    and 
nooks. 

It  was  believed  possible  by  the  engineers  that  a  railroad 
of  standard  gauge  and  equipment  could  be  operated  with- 
out special  appliances,  and  so  strongly  was  this  view  held 
that  work  was  commenced  on  the  project.  Eight  miles  of 
grading  was  completed,  but  the  project  was  then  abandoned 
in  consequence  of  adverse  reports  received  from  experts, 
sent  out  for  the  purpose.  Their  statement  was  that  no 
grade  would  be  able  to  stand  the  force  of  the  washouts, 
though,  strange  to  say,  all  the  grading  that  was  accomp- 
lished stands  to-day,  as  firm  as  ever.  Three  or  four  years 
later  another  project,  destined  to  be  more  successful,  came 
into  existence.  In  1889,  grading  commenced,  and  finally 
the  work  was  completed,  and  the  summit  of  Pike's  Peak 
can  now  be  reached  by  railroad. 

The  road  itself  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  ones  in  the 
United  States,  and,  indeed,  in  the  world.  The  road-bed  is 
fifteen  feet  wide,  and  there  is  not  a  single  foot  of  trestle 
work  in  the  entire  construction.  There  are  three  short 
bridges  of  iron,  and  the  precautions  in  the  way  of  cross 
sections  of  masonry  are  very  elaborate.  The  average 
ascent  per  mile  is  1,320  feet,  and  the  total  ascent  is  nearly 
8,000  feet.  In  the  center  of  the  track,  between  the  heavy 
steel  rails,  are  two  cog  rails,  of  great  strength.  These  are 
provided  to  insure  absolute  safety  for  travelers,  one  being 
for  general  use  and  the  other  as  a  kind  of  reserve. 

Special  locomotives  are  used  on  the  line.  These  were 
constructed  by  the  Baldwin  Company,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
include  the  latest  patents  in  engine  building.  When  stand- 
ing on  a  level  track  they  appear  to  be  at  a  slant  of  about 
8  per  cent.  When  on  a  mountain  road,  like  that  of 


HKROGLYPHIC    BOULDERS    FOUND    IN    CLIFF-DWELLERS' 
HOUSES. 


PICTURE    BOULDER    MARKED   BY    INFERIOR    RACE. 


HIEROGLYPHIC    BOULDERS    FROM    GRAVES. 


FOUND    IN   ANCIENT   RUINS. 


Hieroglyphic  Memoirs  of  Past  Ages. 


A  RAILROAD  TO  THE  CLOUDS.         325 

Pike's  Peak,  they  are  approximately  level.  There  are 
three  wheels  on  each  side  of  the  engine,  but  these  are  not 
driving  wheels,  being  merely  used  to  help  sustain  the 
weight.  The  driving  wheels  operate  on  the  cog  rails  in  the 
center  of  the  track.  The  cars  also  slope,  or  slant,  like  the 
engine.  No  couplings  are  used,  so  that  one  great  element 
of  danger,  is  avoided.  The  engine  and  the  cars  have  each 
independent  cog  brakes  of  almost  unlimited  power.  When 
traveling  three  or  four  miles  an  hour,  the  little  train,  with 
the  locomotive  pushing  instead  of  pulling  it,  can  be 
stopped  instantly.  When  the  speed  reaches  eight  or  nine 
miles  an  hour,  stoppage  can  be  effected  in  less  than  one 
revolution  of  a  wheel. 

Not  only  is  the  ride  up  Pike's  Peak  a  wonderful  sensa- 
tion and  a  constant  reminder  of  the  triumphs  of  engineer- 
ing, but  it  is  also  a  source  of  continual  delight  to  the  lover 
of  the  beautiful  and  awful  in  nature.  About  half  way  up 
the  mountain  is  a  most  delightful  little  hillside  retreat,  aptly 
named  "  The  Half -Way  House."  It  is  a  very  comfortable 
establishment  within  rustic  walls.  The  pines  and  firs 
which  surround  it  add  a  great  charm  to  the  outlook,  and 
the  cool  mountain  breeze  is  charged  with  very  pleasing 
odors.  Tourists  frequently  spend  a  night  here  and  consid- 
er the  sensation  one  of  the  most  unique  of  a  long  trip. 

A  tourist  describing  a  ride  up  Pike's  Peak  by  this 
singular  railroad,  says : 

"  We  are  now  far  above  timber  line.  On  all  sides 
can  be  seen  strange  flowers,  of  lovely  forms  and  varied 
hues.  Plants  which  attain  considerable  proportions  on 
the  plains  are  here  reduced  to  their  lowest  forms.  It 
is  not  an  unusual  thing  to  find  a  sunflower  stalk  in  the 
prairies  rising  from  a  height  of  eight  to  ten  feet;  here 

19 


326  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

they  grow  like  dandelions  in  the  grass,  jet  retaining  all 
their  characteristics  of  form  and  color.  Beyond  this 
mountain  meadow  are  great  fields  of  disintegrated 
granite,  broken  cubes  of  pink  rock,  so  vast  in  extent 
that  they  might  well  be  the  ruins  of  all  the  ancient  cities 
in  the  world.  Far  below  flash  the  waters  of  Lake  Morain, 
and  beyond,  to  the  southward,  lie  the  Seven  Lakes. 
Another  turn  of  the  track  to  the  northward,  and  the 
shining  rails  stretch  almost  straight  up  what  appears  to  be 
an  inaccessible  wall  of  almost  peerless  granite.  But  no 
physical  obstruction  is  formidable  enough  to  stop  the 
progress  of  this  marvelous  railway ;  and  passing  the  yawn- 
ing abyss  of  the  *  Crater,'  the  line  proceeds  direct  to  the 
summit.  The  grade  here  is  one  of  25  per  cent.,  and  timid 
passengers  will  not  escape  a  thrill  of  fear  as  they  gaze 
over  the  brink  of  this  precipice,  although  the  danger  is 
absolutely  nothing.  At  last  the  summit  is  reached,  and, 
disembarking,  the  tourists  can  seek  refreshments  in  the 
hotel,  which  will  cater  to  their  wants,  and  then  spend  the 
time  before  the  train  returns  in  enjoying  the  view,  and  in 
rambling  over  the  seventy  acres  of  broken  granite  which 
form  the  summit. 

"The  view  from  the  Peak,  once  beheld,  can  never  be 
forgotten.  The  first  sensation  is  that  of  complete  isolation. 
The  silence  is  profound.  The  clouds  are  below  us,  and 
noiselessly  break  in  foaming  billows  against  the  faces  of 
the  beetling  cliffs.  Occasionally  the  silence  is  broken  by 
the  deep  roll  of  thunder  from  the  depths  beneath,  as 
though  the  voice  of  the  Creator  were  uttering  a  stern 
edict  of  destruction.  The  storm  rises,  the  mists  envelop 
us,  there  is  a  rush  of  wind,  a  rattle  of  hail,  and  we  seek 
refuge  in  the  hotel. 


A  RAILROAD  TO  THE  CLOUDS.         327 

4 'Pause  a  moment  before  entering,  and  hold  up  your 
hands.  You  can  feel  the  sharp  tingle  of  the  electric  current 
as  it  escapes  from  your  finger-tips.  The  storm  is  soon  over, 
and  you  can  see  the  sunbeams  gilding  the  upper  surfaces 
of  the  white  clouds  that  sway  and  swing  below  you  half 
way  down  the  mountain  sides,  and  completely  hide  from 
view  the  world  beneath.  The  scenery  shifts,  like  a  drawn 
curtain  the  clouds  part ;  and  as  from  the  heights  of  another 
sphere  we  look  forth  upon  the  majesty  of  the  mountains  and 
the  plains,  an  ocean  of  inextricably  entangled  peaks  sweeps 
into  view.  Forests  dark  and  vast  seem  like  vague  shadows 
on  distant  mountain  sides.  A  city  is  dwarfed  into  the 
compass  of  a  single  block ;  water  courses  are  mere  threads 
of  silver,  laid  in  graceful  curves  upon  the  gre.en  velvet 
mantle  of  the  endless  plains.  The  red  granite  rocks 
beneath  our  feet  are  starred  with  tiny  flowers,  so  minute 
that  they  are  almost  microscopic,  yet  tinted  with  the  most 
delicate  and  tender  colors. 

"The  majesty  of  greatness  and  the  mystery  of  minute- 
ness are  here  brought  face  to  face.  What  wonders  of 
cr.eation  exist  between  these  two  extremes !  The  thought- 
ful mind  is  awed  by  the  contemplation  of  this  scene,  and 
when  the  reflection  comes  that  these  vast  spaces  are  but 
grains  of  sand  upon  an  infinite  shore  of  creation,  and  that 
there  are  worlds  of  beauty  as  far  and  varied  between  the 
tiny  flowers  and  the  ultimate  researches  of  the  microscope 
as  those  which  exist,  on  an  ascending  scale,  between  the 
flowers  and  the  great  globe  itself,  the  mind  is  overwhelmed 
with  wonder  and  admiration.  It  is  in  vain  that  one  strives 
to  describe  the  scene.  Only  those  who  have  beheld  it  can 
realize  its  grandeur  and  magnificence." 

Lovers  of  horseback  riding  regard  the  vicinity  of  Pike's 


328  jtfY  NATIVE   LAND. 

Peak  and  Manitou  almost  in  the  light  of  a  paradise.  A 
ride  of  a  few  miles  in  any  direction  leads  to  some  specially 
attractive  or  historic  spot.  Crystal  Park  is  one  of  the 
popular  resorts  of  this  kind.  It  is  enclosed  by  high 
mountains  on  all  sides,  with  an  entrance  which  partakes 
of  the  nature  of  a  natural  gateway.  In  summer  time  this 
park  is  a  profusion  of  bloom,  with  wild  flowers  and  vines 
seldom  seen  in  any  other  part  of  the  world  in  such  splen- 
dor. There  are  several  elevated  spots  from  which  the 
surrounding  country  can  be  seen  for  miles.  Above  the 
park  is  Cameron's  Cone.  This  is  a  mountain  of  much 
interest,  although  it  can  only  be  reached  and  climbed  by 
hardy,  athletic  individuals.  All  around  there  are  a  profu- 
sion of  canons.  The  Red  Rock  Canon  was  at  one  time  a 
popular  resort.  It  took  its  name  from  the  profusion  of 
red  sandstone  on  all  sides.  This  natural  wealth  finally 
destroyed  the  beauty  of  the  canon,  which  is  now  a  mass  of 
stone  quarries.  Bear  Creek  Canon  has  less  of  the  practi- 
cal and  more  of  the  picturesque  about  it.  A  very  charm- 
ing brook  runs  down  the  center,  and  there  are  two  or  three 
small  but  very  delightful  falls. 

The  Ridge  Road  is  a  species  of  boulevard  recently  con- 
structed for  the  use  of  visitors  to  Manitou.  At  places  the 
grade  is  so  abrupt  that  timid  ladies  do  not  care  to  drive 
down  it.  Otherwise  it  is  a  very  pleasing  thoroughfare, 
with  fresh  surprises  and  delights  awaiting  the  tourist  every 
time  he  passes  along  it.  The  view  in  every  direction  is 
most  charming  and  extensive.  Pike's  Peak  can  be  seen  to- 
great  advantange,  and  in  the  forty  miles  of  the  road  many 
different  features  of  this  mountain  can  be  observed.  The 
road  also  leads  to  William's  Canon. 

Cheyenne    Mountain,   although    dwarfed  somewhat  by 


A  RAILROAD  TO  THE  CLOUDS.         329 

Pike's  Peak,  is  deserving  of  notice.  It  is  very  massive  in 
its  form,  and  its  sides  are  almost  covered  by  canons, 
brooklets  and  waterfalls.  Two  vast  gorges,  know  as  the 
North  and  South  Canons,  are  especially  asked  for  by 
visitors.  The  walls  of  these  gorges  are  of  rich  granite, 
and  stand  perpendicular  on  each  side  a  thousand  feet  high. 
The  effect  is  very  wonderful  in  a  variety  of  ways.  In  the 
South  Canon  are  the  celebrated  Seven  Falls,  which  were 
immortalized  by  Mrs.  Helen  Hunt  Jackson,  the  well-known 
poetess,  whose  remains  were  interred  on  Cheyenne  Moun- 
tain by  her  own  request.  The  Seven  Lakes  must  also  be 
seen  by  all  visitors  to  the  Manitou  region,  and  there  are  so 
many  more  special  features  to  be  examined  and  treasures 
to  be  discovered  that,  no  matter  how  long  one  stays  in  the 
neighborhood,  a  pang  of  regret  is  felt  when  the  visit  is 
brought  to  a  termination. 

There  are  other  spots  in  America  where  more  awful 
scenes  can  be  encountered.  There  are  few,  however ; 
where  the  combinations  are  so  delightful  or  the  general 
views  so  attractive  and  varying. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

INTO    THE    BOWELS    OF    THE    EARTH. 

The  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado — Niagara  Outdone — The  Course  of 
the  Colorado  River — A  Survey  Party  Through  the  Canon — Experi- 
ences of  a  Terrible  Night — Wonderful  Contrasts  of  Color  in  the 
Massive  Rocks — A  Natural  Wall  a  Thousand  Feet  High — Hiero- 
glyphics which  have  Never  been  Deciphered — Relics  of  a  Superior 
Race — Conjecture  as  to  the  Origin  of  the  Ancient  Bearded  White 
Men. 

I  E  have  already  spoken  of  Niagara  as  one  of  the 
^•^i^"  wonders  of  the  world,  and  one  of  the  most 
sought-after  beauty  spots  of  America.  We  will  now  de- 
vote a  few  pages  to  a  description  of  a  far  more  rernarkable 
natural  wonder  and  to  a  phenomenon  which,  were  it  situ- 
ated nearer  the  center  of  population,  would  have  long 
since  outclassed  even  Niagara  as  a  tourist's  Mecca. 

Reference  is  made  to  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado. 

Few  people  have  the  slightest  conception  of  the  mag- 
nitude or  awfulness  of  this  canon.  It  is  clearly  one  of  the 
wonders  of  the  world,  and  its  vastness  is  such  that  to  ex- 
plore it  from  end  to  end  is  a  work  of  the  greatest  possible 
difficulty. 

Even  in  area,  the  canon  is  extraordinary.  It  is  large 
enough  to  contain  more  than  one  Old  World  country.  It  is 
long  enough  to  stretch  across  some  of  the  largest  States  in 
the  Union.  Some  of  the  smaller  New  England  States 
would  be  absolutely  swallowed  up  in  the  yawning  abyss 
could  they,  by  any  means,  be  removed  to  it  bodily.  An 
express  train  running  at  a  high  rate  of  speed,  without  a 

(330) 


INTO  THE  BO  WELS  OF  THE  EARTH.     331 

single  stop  and  on  a  first-class  road-bed,  could  hardly  get 
from  one  end  of  the  canon  to  the  other  in  less  than  five 
hours,  and  an  ordinary  train  with  the  usual  percentage  of 
stoppage  would  about  make  the  distance  between  morning 
and  evening. 

Reduced  to  the  record  of  cold  figures,  the  Grand  Canon 
is  made  up  of  a  series  of  chasms  measuring  about  220 
miles  in  length,  as  much  as  12  miles  in  width,  and  fre- 
quently as  much  as  7,000  feet  in  depth. 

This  marvelous  feature  of  American  scenery  is  very 
fully  described  in  "Our  Own  Cpuntry,"  published  by  the 
National  Publishing  Company.  In  describing  the  canon, 
that  profusely  illustrated  work  says  that  the  figures  quoted 
"do  not  readily  strike  a  responsive  chord  in  the  human 
mind,  for  the  simple  reason  that  they  involve  something 
utterly  different  from  anything  that  more  than  99  per 
cent,  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  have  ever  seen. 
The  man  who  gazes  upon  Niagara  for  the  first  time,  is 
astounded  at  the  depth  of  the  gorge  as  well  as  at  the  force 
of  the  water ;  and  he  who  has  seen  Niagara  can  appreciate 
somewhat  the  marvels  of  the  Grand  Cafion,  when  he  bears 
in  mind  that  the  great  wonder  of  the  Western  World  is  for 
miles  at  a  stretch  more  than  fifty  times  as  deep  as  the 
falls  and  the  gorge,  generally  admitted  to  be  the  most 
awful  scenic  grandeur  within  reach  of  the  ordinary  trav- 
eler. Nor  is  this  all.  Visitors  to  Paris  who  have  enjoyed 
a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  gay  city  from  the  summit  of  Eifel 
Tower,  have  felt  terribly  impressed  with  its  immense 
altitude,  and  have  been  astounded  at  the  effect  on  the 
appearance  of  living  and  inanimate  objects  so  far  below 
them.  How  many  of  the  Americans  who  have  been  thus 
impressed  by  French  enterprise,  have' realized  that  in  their 


332  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

own  country  there  is  a  natural  gorge,  at  points  of  which 
the  distance  between  the  summit  and  the  base  is  more  than 
five  times  as  great  as  the  height  of  the  Eifel  Tower?" 

The  Colorado  River  rises  in  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
crosses  the  Territories  of  Utah  and  Arizona,  and  then 
running  between  the  last  named  and  the  State  of  Califor- 
nia, finally  empties  its  waters  into  the  gulf  bearing  the 
name  of  the  Golden  State.  For  more  than  two  hundred 
miles  of  its  course  it  runs  through  the  gorge  known  as  the 
Grand  Canon,  and  hence  it  has  been  a  very  difficult  river 
to  explore.  During  the  Sixteenth  Century,  some  of  the 
Spanish  explorers,  to  whom  this  country  is  indebted  so 
much  for  early  records  and  descriptions,  crossed  the  then 
undeveloped  deserts  of  the  Southwest  and  discovered  the 
Grand  Canon.  Many  of  the  reports  they  made  of  the 
wonders  of  the  New  World  read  so  much  like  fairy  tales, 
and  seemed  so  obviously  exaggerated,  that  little  credence 
was  given  to  them.  Hence  it  was  that  their  estimates  con- 
cerning the  gorge  through  which  the  Rio  Colorado  Grande 
flows  were  treated  as  fables,  and  laughed  at  rather  than 
believed. 

Major  Powell,  than  whom  few  men  have  done  more  to 
enlighten  the  world  concerning  the  wonders  of  the  Far 
West,  describes  the  canon  very  aptly,  and  speaks  in  a 
most  attractive  manner  of  the  countless  canons  and 
caverns,  whirlpools  and  eddies,  brooklets  and  rivers,  fords 
and  waterfalls,  that  abound  on  every  side.  In  his  first  ex- 
tended description  of  the  canon,  he  stated  that  "every 
river  entering  it  has  cut  another  canon ;  every  lateral  creek 
has  also  cut  another  canon ;  every  brook  runs  in  a  canon  ; 
every  rill  born  of  a  shower  and  living  only  in  the  showers, 
has  cut  for  itself  a  canon ;  so  that  the  whole  upper  portion 


INTO  THE  BOWELS  OF  THE  EARTPI.     333 

of  the  basin  of  the  Colorado  is  traversed  by  a  labyrinth  of 
these  deep  gorges.  About  the  basin  are  mountains;  within 
the  basin  are  canon  gorges ;  the  stretches  of  land  from  brink 
to  brink  are  of  naked  rock  or  of  drifting  sands,  with  here 
and  there  lines  of  volcanic  cones,  and  of  black  scoria  and 
ashes  scattered  about." 

Of  late  years  thousands  of  people  have  been  attracted 
to  this  great  canon,  although  but  very  few  have  succeeded 
in  exploring  its  entire  length.  Few,  indeed,  have  been  able 
to  pass  along  the  balcony  of  the  canon,  and  to  gaze  up  at 
the  countless  wonders  of  nature,  piled  one  above  the  other, 
apparently  up  to  the  very  region  of  the  clouds.  The  com- 
mon notion  of  a  canon,  as  Captain  C.  E.  Dutton  tells  us,  is 
that  of  a  deep,  narrow  gash  in  the  earth,  with  nearly 
vertical  walls,  like  a  great  and  neatly  cut  trench.  There 
are  hundreds  of  chasms  in  the  plateau  country  which 
answer  very  well  to  this  notion.  It  is,  however,  un- 
fortunate that  the  stupendous  pass  way  for  the  Colorado 
River  through  the  Kaibabs  was  ever  called  a  canon,  for 
the  name  identified  it  with  the  baser  conception.  At 
places  the  distance  across  the  chasm  to  the  nearest  point 
on  the  summit  of  the  opposite  wall  is  about  seven  miles. 
A  more  correct  statement  of  the  general  width  would  be 
from  eleven  to  twelve  miles.  It  is  hence  somewhat  un- 
fortunate that  there  is  a  prevalent  idea,  in  some  way,  that 
an  essential  part  of  the  grandeur  of  the  Grand  Canon  is 
the  narrowness  of  its  defile. 

As  Major  Powell  expresses  it,  there  are  rather  a  series 
of  canons,  than  one  huge  one.  Wherever  the  river  has  cut 
its  way  through  the  sandstones,  marbles  and  granites  of 
the  Kaibab  Mountains,  beautiful  and  awe-inspiring  pictures 
are  seen,  while  above  there  are  domes  and  peaks,  some  of 


334  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

red  sandstone  and  some  of  snowy  whiteness.  Cataract 
Canon  alone  is  forty-one  miles  long,  and  has  seventy-five 
cataracts  and  rapids,  of  which  fifty-seven  are  within  a 
space  of  nineteen  miles.  A  journey  along  the  bank  of  a 
river  with  a  waterfall  every  twenty  feet,  on  the  average,  is 
no  joke,  and  only  the  hardiest  men  have  been  able  to  ac- 
complish it.  In  the  spring  of  1889,  the  survey  party  of  a 
projected  railroad  from  Grand  Junction  to  the  Gulf  of 
California,  made  this  journey,  and  from  its  published  de- 
scription more  actual  information  can  be  gleaned  concerning 
the  cafion  itself  than  almost  any  mere  verbal  description. 

The  surveyors  had  to  carry  with  them,  on  their  backs, 
for  a  great  portion  of  the  way,  the  limited  supplies  of  food 
they  took  with  them,  because  it  was  frequently  impossible 
to  get  the  boats  along  at  all.  When  the  boats  were  used, 
several  were  upset,  and  everything  was  uncertainty  as  to 
the  bill  of  fare  that  would  be  presented  at  the  next  meal, 
even  if  there  was  to  be  a  meal  at  all.  Mr.  Frank  M. 
Brown,  president  of  the  railroad  company,  lost  his  life  in 
one  of  the  whirlpools.  He  was  in  a  boat,  a  little  ahead  of 
the  others,  and  seemed  to  be  cheerful  and  hopeful.  He 
shouted  to  his  comrades  in  the  rear  to  come  on  with  their 
boats,  and  that  he  was  all  right.  A  moment  later,  his 
friends  were  astonished  to  see  the  boat  gone,  and  their 
leader  swimming  around  and  around  in  a  whirlpool, 
trying  hard  to  reach  smooth  water. 

He  was  a  good  swimmer,  and  a  brave  man,  but  his 
efforts  were  futile,  and  finally  he  sank.  The  party  waited 
and  watched  for  hours,  but  were  finally  compelled  to  recog- 
nize the  fact  that  their  friend  and  leader  was  gone  forever. 

It  was  determined  almost  immediately  to  beat  a  retreat. 
While  the  party  was  hunting  for  a  side  canon  leading 


IS  TO  THE  DOWELS  OF  THE  EAETH.     335 

northward,  through  which  they  could  make  their  exit,  it  be- 
came evident  that  a  storm  was  brewing.  Rain  commenced 
to  fall  in  a  steady  shower,  and  to  increase  in  quantity.  The 
surveyors  had  no  dry  clothing  beyond  what  they  stood  up 
in,  and  there  was  no  shelter  of  any  kind  at  hand.  They 
were  near  Vassey's  Paradise,  in  the  deepest  part  of  the 
canon  they  had  yet  reached.  A  storm  in  such  a  location 
had  its  awf  ulness-  intensified  beyond  measure,  and  the 
frightened  men  looked  in  every  direction  for  shelter. 
Finally,  about  forty  feet  up  the  side  of  the  marble  cliff, 
the  opening  to  a  small  cavern  was  seen.  Into  this  Mr.  E. 
B.  Stanton,  one  of  the  party,  climbed.  There  was  not 
room  enough  for  his  body  at  full  length,  but  he  crawled  in 
as  best  he  could,  curled  himself  up,  and  tried 'to  sleep. 

A  terrible  night  followed.      At  about  midnight  he  was 

( 
awakened  by  a  terrific  peal  of  thunder,   which  re-echoed 

and  reverberated  through  the  cafion  in  a  most  magnificently 
awful  manner.  He  had  been  caught  in  storms  in  mountain 
regions  and  deep  valleys  before,  but  he  had  never  felt  so 
terribly  alone  or  so  superstitiously  alarmed  as  on  this  oc- 
casion. Every  now  and  then  a  vivid  flash  of  lightning  would 
light  up  the  dark  recesses  of  the  gorge,  casting  ghastly 
shadows  upon  the  cliffs,  hill  sides,  ravines  and  river.  Then 
again  there  would  be  the  darkness  which,  as  Milton  puts 
it,  could  be  felt,  and  the  feeling  of  solitude  was  almost 
intolerable. 

The  river  in  the  meantime  had  swollen  into  a  torrent,  by 
the  drenching  rain,  which  had  converted  every  creek  into  a 
river,  and  every  feeder  of  the  Colorado  into  a  magnificent, 
if  raging,  river  itself.  The  noise  caused  by  the  excited 
river,  as  it  leaped  over  the  massive  rocks  along  its  bed,  vied 
with  the  thunder,  and  the  echoes  seemed  to  extend  hundreds 


336  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

of  miles  in  every  direction.  What  affected  the  stranded 
traveler  the  most  was  the  noise  overhead,  the  reverberation 
inducing  a  feeling  of  alarm  that  huge  masses  of  rock  were 
being  displaced  from  their  lofty  eminence  thousands  of 
feet  above  his  head,  and  were  rushing  down  upon  him. 

The  night  was  passed,  finally,  and  when  the  storm  had 
spent  itself,  the  survivors  of  the  party  succeeded  in  getting 
out  of  the  canon  and  reaching  a  plateau,  2,500  feet  above. 
They  then  took  a  brief  rest,  but  with  that  disregard  for 
danger  which  is  characteristic  of  the  true  American,  they 
at  once  organized  another  expedition,  and  a  few  months 
later  resumed  the  task  so  tragically  interrupted  and  marred 
with  such  a  sad  fatality. 

The  trip  through  Glen  Canon  was  like  a  pleasure  trip 
on  a  smooth  river  in  autumn,  with  beautiful  wild  flowers 
and  ferns  at  every  camp.  At  Lee's  Ferry  they  ate  their 
Christmas  dinner,  with  the  table  decorated  with  wild 
flowers,  picked  that  day. 

On  December  28th  they  started  to  traverse,  once  more, 
that  portion  of  Marble  Canon  made  tragic  by  the  fatality 
of  the  summer  before.  "On  the  next  Tuesday,"  writes 
Mr.  Stanton,  "we  reached  the  spot  where  President  Brown 
lost  his  life.  What  a  change  in  the  waters  !  What  was 
then  a  roaring  torrent,  now,  with  the  water  some  nine  feet 
lower,  seemed  from  the  shore  like  the  gentle  ripple  upon 
the  quiet  lake.  We  found,  however,  in  going  through  it 
with  our  boats,  there  was  the  same  swift  current,  the  same 
huge  eddy,  and  between  them  the  same  whirlpool,  with  its 
ever-changing  circles.  Marble  Canon  seemed  destined  to 
give  us  trouble.  On  January  1st,  our  photographer,  Mr. 
Nims,  fell  from  a  bench  of  the  cliff,  some  twenty-two  feet, 
on  to  the  sand  beach  below,  receiving  a  severe  jar,  and 


INTO  THE  BOWELS  OF  THE  EARTH.     337 

breaking  one  of  his  legs  just  above  the  ankle.  Having 
plenty  of  bandages  and  medicine,  we  made  Ninas  as  com- 
fortable as  possible  till  the  next  day,  when  we  loaded  one 
of  the  boats  to  make  him  a  level  bed,  and  constructing  a 
stretcher  of  two  oars  and  a  piece  of  canvas,  put  him  on 
board  and  floated  down  river  a  couple  of  miles — running 
two  small  rapids — to  a  side  canon,  which  led  out  to  the 
Lee's  Ferry  road." 

The  next  day,  after  discovering  a  way  out  of  the  deep 
ravine,  one  of  the  party  tramped  thirty-five  miles  back  to 
Lee's  Ferry,  where  a  wagon  was  obtained  for  the  injured 
Surveyor.  Eight  of  the  strongest  men  of  the  party  then 
undertook  the  task  of  carrying  the  injured  man  a  distance 
of  four  miles,  and  up  a  hill  1,700  feet  high.  It  is  indica- 
tive of  the  extraordinary  formation  of  the  Grand  Canon 
that  the  last  half  mile  was  an  angle  of  45  degrees,  up  a 
loose  rock  slide.  The  stretcher  had  to  be  attached  to 
ropes  and  gently  lifted  over  perpendicular  cliffs,  from  ten 
to  twenty  feet  high.  The  dangerous  and  tedious  journey 
was  at  last  accomplished,  and  the  trip  continued. 

Finally  the  unexplored  portion  of  the  canon  was 
reached.  For  thirty  miles  down  Marble  Canon,  to  the 
Little  Colorado  River,  the  most  beautiful  scenery  was 
encountered.  At  Point  Retreat,  the  solid  marble  walls 
stand  perpendicularly  300  feet  high  from  the  river  edge. 
Behind  these  walls  the  sandstone  lies  in  benches,  and 
slopes  to  an  aggregate  height  of  2,500  feet.  Above  the 
narrow  ravine  of  marble,  the  color  is  mostly  rich  gray, 
although  the  presence  of  minerals  has  in  places  imparted 
so  many  tints  that  quite  a  rainbow  appearance  is  presented. 
Caves  and  caverns  relieve  the  monotony  of  the  solid  walls. 
Here  and  there  a  most  delightful  grotto  is  seen,  while  the 


338  MY  NATIVE   LAND.' 

action  of  the  water  rushing  down  the  cliff  sides  has  left 
little  natural  bridges  in  many  places.  Countless  fountains 
of  pure,  sparkling  water  adorn  the  smooth  rocks,  and  here 
and  there  are  little  oases  of  ferns  and  flowers,  which  seem 
strangely  out  of  place  so  far  down  into  the  very  bowels  of 
the  earth. 

Below  Point  Hausbrough,  named  in  honor  of  Peter  M. 
Hausbrough,  who  was  drowned  during  the  first  exploring 
trip,  the  canon  widens  rapidly.  The  marble  benches  are 
replaced  by  strata  of  limestone,  and  between  the  river  and 
the  rocks  green  fields  and  groves  of  trees  become  common. 
The  view  from  the  river,  looking  across  this  verdure,  with 
sandstone  rocks  for  the  immediate  background,  and  snow- 
capped mountains  in  the  distance,  is  extraordinary  in  its 
magnificence  and  combinations.  Between  the  grand  junc- 
tion of  the  Little  Colorado  with  the  main  canon  and  the 
Granite  Gorge,  there  is  about  eight  hundred  miles  of  a  very 
different  section.  Evidences  of  volcanic  action  abound. 
Hocks  and  boulders  seem  to  have  been  blown  out  of 
position  and  mixed  up  all  in  a  heap.  The  rocks  are  largely 
charged  with  mineral,  and,  as  a  result,  almost  every  known 
color  is  represented,  in  the  most  remarkable  purity.  The 
river  runs  through  a  wide  valley,  with  the  top  walls  several 
miles  apart. 

The  Granite  Gorge  itself  is  entirely  different.  Here 
the  great  walls  of  granite  start  from  the  water's  edge. 
The  first  few  feet  are .  usually  vertical.  Then,  for  a 
thousand  feet  or  more,  the  rise  is  at  an  angle  of  about 
45  degrees,  while  occasionally  masses  of  rock  stand 
out  prominently  and  overhang  the  river.  Above  the 
granite  comes  a  mass  of  dark  colored  sandstone,  with  a 
vertical  front.  In  many  places  it  is  perfectly  black,  the 


INTO  THE  BO  WELS  OF  THE  EARTH.     339 

color  being  intensified  by  the  brightness  of  the  red  below. 
If  an  artist  were  to  paint  a  cliff  deep  red,  with  a  jet  black 
border  along  the  top,  Old  World  critics  would  be  apt  to 
declare  him  insane.  Yet  this  is  really  the  coloring  of  this 
section  of  the  most  wonderful  canon  in  the  entire  world. 

Although  the  canon  at  this  point  varies  in  width  at  the 
top  from  six  to  twelve  miles,  the  river  really  runs  through 
a  narrow  gorge,  and  partakes  very  much  of  the  nature  of 
a  long  rapid  or  cataract.  For  ten  miles  the  fall  averages 
twenty -one  feet  per  mile,  sufficient  to  make  the  current 
very  dangerous  even  at  low  water,  and  something  terrible 
after  heavy  rains  or  much  snow  melting.  In  one  place  the 
fall  is  eighty  feet  in  about  five  hundred  yards,  and  here,  of 
course,  navigation  is  practically  out  of  the  question.  The 
explorers,  to  whom  we  have  referred,  were  compelled  to 
proceed  with  great  deliberation  at  this  point.  Occasionally 
they  ran  the  rapids,  but  very  often  they  were  compelled  to 
lower  their  boats  by  means  of  lines,  and  even  to  lift  them 
over  exceptionally  dangerous  rocks. 

At  the  worst  point  of  all,  one  of  the  boats,  while  being 
lowered  by  lines,  was  struck  by  an  eddy  and  run  tightly 
in  between  two  rocks.  It  became  necessary  for  men  to  go 
into  the  water  to  liberate  the  boat.  With  lines  tied 
securely  to  their  bodies,  some  of  the  boldest  of  the 
explorers  ventured  into  the  water  and  tried  to  loosen  the 
boat,  or  at  least  to  secure  the  invaluable  -provisions  and 
blankets  on  board.  It  was  January,  and  the  water  was  so 
intensely  cold  that  no  man  could  endure  it  more  than  a 
few  minutes  at  a  time,  so  that  the  process  was  a  long  and 
tedious  one.  Finally  the  boat  was  got  out,  but  it  took  five 
days  to  repair  it,  and  even  then  it  was  a  very  poor  means 
of  navigation.  A  few  days  later,  a  still  more  powerful 


340  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

and  dangerous  rapid  was  encountered.  Some  idea  of  the 
force  of  the  water  can  be  gleaned  from  the  precautions 
that  were  necessary.  A  line  250  feet  long  was  strung  out 
ahead,  and  the  boat  was  swung  into  the  stream.  It  went 
through  apparently  the  most  dangerous  places  without 
much  difficulty.  The  line  was  loosened  slowly  and  the 
boat  held  under  control,  but  when  it  reached  the  main 
eddy  it  began  to  get  contrary,  and  finally  swung  round, 
and  seemed  to  have  struck  a  back  current.  Several  hours' 
work  got  the  boat  to  shore,  but  the  next  one  was  dashed 
into  a  thousand  pieces  while  crossing  over  some  of  the 
sharp-pointed  rocks. 

The  forty  miles  of  the  Granite  Gorge  are  replete  with 
wonders.  The  strangely  misnamed  section,  the  Bright 
Angel  Creek,  is  absolutely  dark,  even  at  midday.  It  has. 
been  described  as  a  sentinel  of  the  great  canon,  and  few 
people  have  dared  attempt  to  pass  through  it.  Farther 
down,  the  granite  walls  become  less  steep,  and  black 
granite  relieves  the  monotony  of  color.  Here  and  there, 
at  side  canons  and  sudden  bends,  the  vast  rear  view  of  the 
gorge,  with  its  sandstone  cliffs,  is  brought  into  view. 
These  are  benched  back  several  miles  from  the  river,  with 
huge  mountains  here  and  there  intervening.  Above  the 
dark  sandstone  there  are  flattened  slopes  of  yellow,  brown, 
red,  green  and  white  rock,  rich  in  mineral.  Through  these 
the  force  of  -water  for  ages  has  cut  narrow,  trench-like 
waterfalls,  most  remarkable  in  appearance  and  attractive 
in  their  variety  of  coloring 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  an  upright  wall  a  thousand  feet 
high  with  red  the  predominating  color,  and  with  brighter 
hues  near  the  summit.  Benches  of  marble,  with  tufts  of 
grass  and  bush,  appear  here  and  there,  while  occasionally 


A  Fin  de  Siecle  Pleasure  Steamer. 


INTO  THE  BO  WELS  OF  THE  EARTH.     343 

there  is  a  little  tract  of  faultless  green.  Above  all  this, 
there  is  something  like  two  thousand  feet  of  a  lighter 
colored  sandstone.  This  is  beautified  by  spiral  turrets  and 
domes,  and  wherever  the  slope  is  gradual  enough,  pine  and 
cedar  trees  abound  in  large  numbers.  Behind  all  this 
there  is  the  background  of  snow  on  the  summit  of  the 
mountains,  and  when  an  unexpected  view  can  be  obtained 
from  the  river  below,  there  is  so  great  a  profusion  of 
coloring  that  the  eye  rebels,  and  a  feeling  not  unlike 
headache  is  produced. 

Further  wonders  are  revealed  every  few  thousand  feet. 
At  the  mouth  of  the  next  creek  the  coloring  is  different. 
The  strata  dips  visibly,  and  the  marble,  which  has  hitherto 
been  exposed  to  view,  is  now  beneath  the  surface.  The 
sandstone  forms  the  river  boundary,  and  rises  at  a  sharp 
angle  from  the  water's  edge.  The  river  itself  is  narrow  in 

O  C5 

consequence,  but  the  great  valley  is  even  wider  at  the  top. 
The  walls  vary  in  height  from  2,000  to  8,000  feet,  and  in 
rainy  seasons  the  water  rushes  down  the  side  in  great 
profusion.  Thousands  of  little  rivulets  join  the  main 
stream,  and  add  greatly  to  the  volume  of  water.  Some- 
times the  river  will  rise  four  or  five  feet  in  a  single  night, 
upsetting  all  calculation,  and  making  navigation  risky  in 
the  extreme.  When,  by  chance,  the  sun  is  able  to 
penetrate  into  the  depths  of  this  canon,  the  kaleidoscopic 
effects  are  exquisite,  and  cause  the  most  indifferent  to 
pause  and  wonder. 

The  discovery  of  an  extinct  volcano  explains  a  great 
deal  of  the  wonders  of  the  great  canon.  The  volcano  is 
examined  by  thousands  of  tourists,  this  being  one  of  the 
spots  to  reach  which  scientists  are  willing  to  incur  count- 
less hardships  and  risks.  No  one  can  tell  when  the 

90 


344  MY  NATIVE   LAXD. 

volcano  was  active,  but  from  the  nature  of  the  crater  it  is 
perfectly  clear  that  at  one  time  it  belched  forth  volumes 
of  lava,  which  had  a  marked  effect  on  the  formation  of 
the  rock  and  the  lay  of  the  land  of  the  surrounding 
country.  Past  the  volcano,  for  many  miles,  the  bright 
colors  already  referred  to  are  supplanted  by  more  sombre 
hues.  Occasionally  there  is  a  little  scarlet,  and,  as  a  rule, 
the  sandstone  is  covered  with  the  mysterious  substance 
brought  out  of  the  bowels  of  the  earth  by  the  now  silent, 
but  once  magnificently  awful,  mountains. 

The  exploring  party  to  which  we  have  referred,  went 
through  600  miles  of  canons,  and  found  that  no  two  miles 
were  really  alike.  Finally,  after  three  months  of.  hard- 
ship, they  emerged  into  an  open  country,  and  became 
almost  frantic  with  joy.  Never  did  country  seem  so  beau- 
tiful, or  verdure  so  attractive,  and  the  panorama  of  beauty 
which  was  presented  to  their  view  caused  them  to  shout 
with  delight,  and  to  offer  up  cries  of  thankfulness  for  their 
ultimate  deliverance  from  a  series  of  hardships  and  dangers 
which  at  one  time  seemed  almost  insurmountable. 

The  region  also  abounds  with  archaeological  curiosities 
and  remarkable  hieroglyphics.  Many  of  these  are  found 
in  close  proximity  to  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado,  and 
on  the  cliff s  in  which  the  far-famed  cliff  dwellers  of  old 
took  up  their  abode.  Hieroglyphics,  marked  upon  rocks 
or  other  lasting  substances,  have  been  used  by  nearly 
all  ancient  races  to  perpetuate  the  history  of  certain  events 
among  them.  Especially  true  is  this  of  the  ancient  people 
who  lived  in  Arizona.  The  remarkable  picture  rocks  and 
boulders,  with  strange  symbols  upon  them,  left  by  the 
prehistoric  races  of  Arizona,  have  been  the  cause  of  much 
discussion  among  those  who  have  seen  them,  as  to  who 


INTO  THE  BO  WELS  OF  THE  EARTH.     345 

these  ancient  hieroglyphic  makers  were.  These  rock 
records  may  be  divided  into  three  different  kinds,  which  it 
is  thought  were  made  by  two  different  races.  The  first, 
or  very  ancient  race,  left  records  on  rocks,  in  some  in^ 
stances  of  symbols  only,  and  in  other  instances  of  pictures 
and  symbols  combined.  The  later  race,  which  came  after 
the  first  race  had  vanished,  made  only  crude  representa- 
tions of  animals,  birds  or  reptiles,  not  using  symbols  or 
combinations  of  lines. 

The  age  of  the  most  ancient  pictographs  and  hiero- 
glyphics can  only  be  conjectured,  but  all  give  certain  indi- 
cations that  they  are  many  centuries  old,  and  the  difference 
between  the  work  of  the  ancient  and  the  later  race  leads 
the  observer  to  believe  that  the  older  hieroglyphics  were 
made  by  a  people  far  superior  to  those  who  came  after 
them,  and  who  left  no  record  in  symbols,  as  we  have  said, 
with  the  exception  of  crude  representations  of  animals 
and  reptiles. 

In  many  instances  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  same  rock 
or  cliff  has  been  used  by  the  two  different  races  to  put 
their  markings  upon,  the  later,  or  inferior,  race  often 
making  their  pictographs  over  or  across  the  hieroglyphic 
writings  of  the  first  race.  Of  the  superiority  of  the  first 
people  who  left  their  writings  on  the  rocks  and  boulders 
found  in  the  ancient  mounds,  ruins  and  graves,  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  for  their  writings  show  order  and  a  well- 
defined  design  in  symbols,  which  were  evidently  intended 
to  convey  their  history  to  others ;  and  it  is  quite  probable 
that  those  who  made  the  great  mounds,  houses  and  canals 
were  the  authors  of  these  writings.  It  may  be  truthfully 
asserted  that  the  cliff  dwellers  of  the  rock  houses  in  the 
deep  canons  of  the  mountains  were  of  the  same  race  as 


346  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

the  mound  builders  of  the  valleys,  for  exactly  the  same 
class  of  hieroglyphics  found  on  boulders  from  the  ancient 
ruins  of  the  valleys,  are  found  on  the  rocks  near  the 
houses  of  the  cliff  dwellers. 

If  this  superior  race  were  so  distinctive  from  all  other 
ancient  races  of  Arizona — in  their  work  being  so  far  ad- 
vanced as  to  solve  what  would  be  called,  even  at  the 
present  day,  difficult  engineering  problems ;  to  dig  great 
canals  many  miles  in  length,  the  remains  of  which 
can  be  seen  at  the  present  time,  and  to  bring  them  to 
such  perfection  for  irrigating  purposes;  to  build  such 
great  houses  and  to  live  in  cities — may  it  not  have  been, 
as  many  who  have  studied  this  subject  now  contend,  that 
this  superior  race  were  white  people  instead  of  a  copper 
colored  race,  as  has  generally  been  supposed? 

The  hieroglyphics  of  the  more  ancient  race  are  often 
found  on  sheltered  rocks  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountains 
leading  up  from  the  valleys.  Generally  protected  from  the 
elements  by  overhanging  cliffs,  the  dry  climate  has  kept 
the  writings  from  wearing  away,  and  being  in  most  in- 
stances picked  into  rocks  which  have  a  black,  glistening 
surface,  but  of  a  lighter  color  underneath,  the  contrast  is 
very  noticeable,  and  when  in  prominent  places  these  hiero- 
glyphics can  be  seen  several  hundred  feet  away. 

As  no  metal  tools  have  ever  been  found  in  the  mounds, 
ruins  or  cliff  dwellings,  the  hieroglyphics  were  probably 
picked  into  the  rock  with  a  sharp-pointed  stone  much 
harder  than  the  rock  upon  which  the  work  was  done.  It 
is  a  singular  fact  that,  although  iron,  copper,  gold  and 
silver  abound  in  the  mountains  in  Arizona,  no  tools, 
utensils  or  ornaments  of  these  metals  are  found  in  the 
mounds  or  ruins.  Yet  furnace-like  structures  of  ancient 


INTO  THE  BOWELS  OF  THE  EARTH.     347 

origin  have  been  found,  which  appear  to  have  been  used 
for  reducing  ores,  and  in  and  around  which  can  be  found 
great  quantities  of  an  unknown  kind  of  slag. 

In  many  instances  the  hieroglyphic  boulders  have  been 
found  in  great  heaps,  of  several  hundred  in  number,  as  if 
many  different  persons  had  contributed  a  piece  of  this 
strange  writing  to  the  collection.  These  etched  boulders 
have  been  found  buried  in  the  ground  with  ollas  containing 
the  charred  bones  of  human  beings,  and  could  the  writings 
on  the  boulders  be  deciphered,  we  would  undoubtedly  learn 
of  the  virtues  of  the  prehistoric  deceased,  just  as  we  do  of 
a  person  who  dies  in  the  present  day,  when  we  read  the 
epitaph  on  a  tombstone  of  the  one  who  is  buried  beneath. 

In  opening  some  of  the  mounds,  the  investigator  finds 
they  are  made  of  the  fallen  walls  of  great  adobe  buildings, 
and  as  he  digs  deeper  he  finds  rooms  of  various  dimensions, 
and  which,  in  many  instances,  have  cemented  walls  and 
floors.  In  one  instance  there  were  found  the  impressions 
of  a  baby's  feet  and  hands,  made,  presumably,  as  the  child 
had  crawled  over  the  newly  laid  soft  cement.  In  another 
mound  the  cemented  walls  of  a  room  were  found  covered 
with  hieroglyphics  and  rude  drawings,  which  were  thought 
to  represent  stellar  constellations. 

To  a  certain  extent,  some  of  the  pictured  rocks  tell  us 
of  part  of  the  daily  life  of  this  ancient  race,  for  in  a 
number  of  instances  the  pictures  picked  into  the  rocks, 
although  rudely  formed,  are  self-explanatory,  and  the 
ancient  artist  tells  plainly  by  his  work  what  is  meant. 
On  the  edge  of  a  little  valley  in  the  Superstition  Mountains, 
there  was  found  a  great  rock  on  which  had  been  etched 
many  small  animals,  apparently  representing  sheep,  and  at 
one  side  was  the  figure  of  a  man,  as  if  watching  them.  It 


348  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

may  be  the  ancient  herder  himself,  sitting  in  the  shadow 
of  the  great  rock,  while  his  sheep  were  grazing  in  the  valley 
below,  has  passed  away  the  time  in  making  this  rock  pic- 
ture. The  hardy  wild  sheep  still  found  in  the  mountains  of 
Arizona  may  be  the  remnants  of  great  bands  formerly  do- 
mesticated by  these  people. 

The  skeleton  of  the  prehistoric  man  dug  from  beneath 
the  stalagmites  in  the  cave  of  Mentone,  France,  and  which 
set  all  the  scientific  men  of  the  world  talking  and  thinking, 
gives  proof  of  no  greater  age  than  many  of  the  skeletons, 
relics  or  bones  of  some  of  these  ancient  mound  and  canal 
builders. 

An  incident  illustrating  the  great  antiquity  of  pre- 
historic man  in  Arizona,  is  the  following :  In  digging  a 
well  on  the  desert  north  of  Phoenix,  at  the  depth  of  115  feet 
from  the  surface  a  stone  mortar,  such  as  the  ancients  used, 
was  found  standing  upright,  and  in  it  was  found  a  stone 
pestle,  showing  the  mortar  had  not  been  carried  there  by 
any  underground  current  of  water,  and  that  it  had  not 
been  disturbed  from  the  position  in  which  its  ancient  owner 
had  left  it  with  the  pestle  in  it.  There  is  only  one  way  to 
account  for  this  mortar  and  pestle.  They  had  originally 
been  left  on  what  was  at  that  time  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  the  slow  wash  from  the  mountains  had 
gradually,  during  unknown  ages,  raised  the  surface  for 
miles  on  every  side  to  the  extent  of  115  feet. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  Will  this  hieroglyphic 
writing  ever  be  deciphered?  The  authors  of  the  most 
ancient  hieroglyphic  writings  or  markings  seem  to  have 
had  well-defined  forms  or  marks,  which  were  in  common 
use  for  this  class  of  writing.  Is  it  not  most  reasonable  that 
a  race  so  far  advanced  in  other  ways  would  have  perfected 


INTO  THE  BO  WELS  OF  THE  EARTH.     349 

a  method  of  transmitting  by  marks  of  some  kind  their 
records  to  those  who  might  come  after  them?  Again, 
where  so  much  system  is  shown  in  the  use  of  symbols,  it 
may  be  presumed  that  the  same  mark,  wherever  used  in 
the  same  position,  carries  with  it  a  fixed  meaning,  alike  at 
all  times.  Having  such  a  settled  system  of  marks,  there 
must  be  a  key  to  the  thoughts  concealed  in  writing,  and 
quite  likely  the  key  for  deciphering  these  hieroglyphics 
will  sometime  be  found  on  one  of  the  yet  undiscovered 
hieroglyphic  rocks  in  the  high  mountains  or  in  the  mounds 
not  yet  examined.  On  the  other  hand,  there  can  be  no 
key  to  the  inferior  class  of  pictographs  made  by  the  people 
who  came  after  the  mound,  canal  and  city  builders  had  dis- 
appeared, for  the  crudely  marked  forms  of  reptiles,  animals 
or  similar  things  had  a  meaning,  if  any,  varying  with  each 
individual  maker. 

Who  were  these  people  who  formed  a  great  nation  here 
in  the  obscurity  of  the  remote  past?  Were  they  the 
ancient  Phoenicians,  who  were  not  only  a  maritime  but  a 
colonizing  nation,  and  who,  in  their  well-manned  ships, 
might  have  found  their  way  to  the  southern  coast  of 
America  ages  since,  and  from  thence  journeyed  north?  Or 
were  they  some  of  the  followers  of  Votan  or  Zamna,  who 
had  wandered  north  and  founded  a  colony  of  the  Aztecs? 
Whoever  these  people  were,  and  whichever  way  they  came 
from,  the  evidences  of  the  great  works  they  left  behind 
them  give  ample  proof  that  they  were  superior  and  dif- 
ferent from  other  races  around  them,  and  these  particular 
people  may  have  been  the  "bearded  white  men,"  whom 
the  Indians  had  traditions  of  when  Coronado's  followers 
first  came  through  the  Gila  and  Salt  River  valleys  in  1526. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

OUR    GREAT    WATERWAYS 

Importance  of  Rivers  to  Commerce  a  Generation  Ago  —  The  Ideal  River 
Man  —  The  Great  Mississippi  River  and  Its  Importance  to  Our 
Native  Land  —  The  Treacherous  Missouri  —  A  First  Mate  Who 
Found  a  Cook's  Disguise  Very  Convenient  —  How  a  Second  Mate 
Got  Over  the  Inconvenience  of  Temporary  Financial  Embarrassment. 


the  last  quarter  of  the  century  in  which 
we  write  the  figures  "1"  and  "8"  in  every  date 
line,  the  steam  railroad  has,  to  a  very  large  extent,  put  out 
of  joint  the  nose  of  the  steamboat,  just  as,  at  the  present 
time,  we  are  threatened  with  so  complete  a  revolution  in 
travel  and  motive  power  as  to  warrant  a  prediction  that, 
long  before  another  quarter  of  a  century  has  passed,  elec- 
tricity will  take  the  place  of  steam  almost  entirely.  But 
even  if  this  is  so,  old  acquaintance  should  not  be  forgot, 
and  every  citizen  of  the  United  States  should  feel  that  the 
prosperity  of  the  country  is  due,  in  very  large  measure,  to 
the  country's  magnificent  waterways,  and  to  the  enter- 
prise of  the  men  who  equipped  river  fleets  and  operated 
them,  with  varying  degrees  of  profit. 

The  true  river  man  is  not  so  conspicuous  as  he  was  in 
the  days  when  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati,  Memphis  and  other 
important  railroad  centers  of  to-day  were  exclusively  river 
towns.  The  river  man  was  a  king  in  those  days.  The 
captain  walked  the  streets  with  as  much  dignity  as  he 
walked  his  own  deck,  and  he  was  pointed  to  by  landsmen 
as  a  person  of  dignity  and  repute.  The  mate  was  a  great 

(350) 


OUR    GREAT    WATERWAYS.  351 

man  in  the  estimation  of  all  who  knew  him,  and  of  a  good 
many  who  did  not  know  him.  Ruling  his  crew  with  a  rod 
of  iron,  and  accustomed  to  be  obeyed  with  considerable 
and  commendable  promptness,  he  adopted  a  tone  of  voice 
in  general  conversation  considerably  louder  than  the  aver- 
age, and  every  one  acquired  a  habit  of  making  way  for  him. 

The  levee  in  a  river  town,  before  the  railroads  came 
snorting  and  puffing  across  country  and  interfering  with 
the  monopoly  so  long  enjoyed  by  the  steamboat,  was  a 
scene  of  continuous  turmoil  and  activity.  Sometimes, 
now,  one  sees  on  a  levee  a  great  deal  of  hurrying  and 
noise.  But  the  busiest  scenes  of  to-day  sink  into  insignifi- 
cance compared  with  those  which  are  rapidly  becoming 
little  more  than  an  indistinct  memory.  The  immense 
cargoes  of  freight  of  every  description  would  be  ranged 
along  the  river  front,  and  little  flags  could  be  seen  in 
every  direction. 

These  flags  were  not,  perhaps,  exactly  evidence  of  the 
activity  of  the  schoolmaster,  or  of  the  prevalence  of 
superior  education.  They  were,  rather,  reminders  of  the 
fact  that  a  great  majority  of  the  rank  and  file  of  river 
workers  could  read  little,  and  write  less.  To  tell  a  colored 
roustabout  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago  to  fetch  a  certain 
cargo,  labeled  with  the  name  of  a  particular  boat  or  con- 
signee, would  have  been  to  draw  from  the  individual 
addressed  a  genuine  old-time  plantation  grin,  with  some 
caustic  observation  about  lack  of  school  facilities  in  the 
days  when  the  roustabout  ought  to  have  been  studying  the 
"three  Es,"  but  was  not.  It  was,  however,  comparatively 
easy  to  locate  a  cargo  by  means  of  a  flag,  and  identification 
seldom  failed,  as  the  flags  could  be  varied  in  color,  shape 
and  size,  so  as  to  provide  distinction  as  well  as  difference. 


352  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

Those  who  remember  the  busy  levee  scene,  with  the 
flag  adornment  referred  to,  will  agree  that  there  was  some- 
thing picturesque  as  well  as  noisy  about  the  old  river  days, 
and  will  be  inclined  to  regret,  and  almost  deplore,  the  fact 
that  things  are  not,  from  a  river  man's  standpoint,  what 
they  were. 

In  no  country  in  the  world  has  railroad  building  been 
carried  on  with  so  much  enterprise  as  in  our  native  land. 
Prior  to  the  enormous  expenditure  on  track  building  and 
railroad  equipment,  advantage  had  to  be  taken  of  the 
extraordinary  opportunities  for  navigation  and  transporta- 
tion afforded  by  the  great  waterways  of  the  country.  As 
railroads  were  naturally  built  in  the  East  before  the  West, 
the  value  of  our  Middle  and  Western  waterways  is  natur- 
ally best  understood  by  the  average  reader,  because  they 
continued  to  play  an  indispensable  part  in  the  transaction 
of  business  of  every  character  until  quite  a  recent  period. 

The  Eastern  rivers  are  less  magnificent  in  extent  and 
volume  than  those  of  the  West,  though  many  of  them  are 
picturesque  and  attractive  in  the  extreme.  The  Hudson 
has  often  been  spoken  of  as  the  " Thames  of  America," 
not  because  there  is  any  resemblance  between  the  length  of 
the  two  rivers  upon  which  are  situated  the  two  greatest 
cities  of  modern  times.  The  simile  is  the  result  rather  of 
the  immense  number  of  costly  family  residences  and 
summer  resorts  built  along  the  banks  of  both  rivers. 

In  another  chapter  we  say  something  of  a  trip  down 
the  picturesque  Hudson,  whose  banks  are  lined  with 
historic  landmarks  and  points  of  pressing  interest.  We 
give  an  illustration  of  a  pleasure  boat  on  the  Hudson, 
which  reminds  one  of  many  delightful  river  trips  taken  at 
various  periods,  and  also  of  the  events  of  national  import 


OUR    GREAT    WATERWAYS.  353 

ance  which  centered  around  the  river  that  is  crowded,  year 
after  year,  with  pleasure-seekers  from  the  overcrowded 
metropolis  at  its  mouth. 

The  Mississippi  River  is  the  largest  and  grandest  in 
North  America.  A  few  miles  above  St.  Louis  it  is  joined 
by  the  Missouri  River,  and  if  the  distance  from  the  source 
of  the  latter  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  be  calculated,  the 
longest  river  in  the  world  is  found.  At  a  considerable  dis- 
tance from  the  source  of  the  Father  of  Waters  are  the  Falls 
of  St.  Anthony,  discovered  more  than  two  hundred  years 
ago  by  enterprising  pioneers,  who  thought  they  had  discov- 
ered the  headwaters  of  the  great  river.  The  scenery  of 
the  river  at  the  falls  and  beyond  them  is  very  attractive, 
and  in  many  cases  so  beautiful  as  to  be  beyond  verbal 
description.  In  many  other  parts  of  the  river  the  scenery 
is  grand,  though  occasionally  there  are  long  stretches  of 
flat  country  which  are  inclined  to  become  monotonous  and 
barren  of  poetic  thought. 

Of  the  entire  river,  Mr.  L.  U.  Reavis  writes  enthusias- 
tically : 

"  The  more  we  consider  the  subject,"  says  this 
author,  "the  more  we  are  compelled  to  admit  that  the 
Mississippi  is  a  wonderful  river,  and  that  no  man  can  com- 
pute its  importance  to  the  American  people.  What  the 
Nile  is  to  Egypt,  what  the  great  Euphrates  was  to  ancient 
Assyria,  what  the  Danube  is  to  Europe,  what  the  Ganges  is 
to  India,  what  the  Amazon  is  to  Brazil — all  this,  and  even 
more  than  this,  the  Mississippi  River  is  to  the  North 
American  Continent,  In  an  earlier  age  men  would  have 
worshiped  the  Mississippi,  but  in  this  age  we  can  do 
better,  we  can  improve  it.  To  this  all  our  efforts  should 
be  directed,  and  we  should  continually  bear  in  mind  that 


354  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

no  other  improvement,  ancient  or  modern,  relating  to  the 
interests  of  commerce  has  ever  commanded  the  attention 
of  men  equal  in  importance  to  that  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  so  as  to  control  its  waters  and  afford  ample  and  free 
navigation  from  St.  Paul  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico." 

During  the  last  few  years,  the  agitation  in  favor  of 
river  improvement  has  assumed  very  definite  shape,  and 
from  time  to  time  large  appropriations  have  been  made  by 
Congress  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  river  navigable  at 
all  periods  of  the  year.  As  long  ago  as  1873,  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Transportation  Routes 
censured  the  Government  for  neglecting  to  thoroughly 
improve  the  big  rivers.  A  quarter  of  a  century  has  nearly 
elapsed  since  then,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  many  competent 
river  men,  there  is  still  room  for  much  improvement,  not 
only  in  the  river,  but  in  the  method  of  arrangements  for 
designing  and  carrying  out  the  improvements. 

The  Missouri  River,  the  great  tributary  to  the  Missis- 
sippi, has  often  been  described  as  one  of  the  most  treach- 
erous and  aggressive  rivers  in  the  universe.  It  seems  to 
be  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  unrest  and  a  desire  for  change, 
so  much  so  that  the  center  of  the  river  bed  frequently 
moves  to  the  right  or  left  so  rapidly  as  to  wipe  out  of 
existence  prosperous  farms  and  homes.  Sometimes  this 
erratic  procedure  threatens  the  very  existence  of  cities  and 
bridges,  and  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  have  been  spent 
from  time  to  time  in  day  and  night  work  to  check  the 
aggressidn  of  the  stream  and  to  compel  it  to  confine  itself 
to  its  proper  limits. 

The  Mississippi  proper  brings  down  from  the  lakes  to 
its  junction  with  the  Missouri  River  clear  water,  in  which 
the  reflection  is  so  vivid,  that  the  verdure  on  the  banks 


OUR    GREAT     WATERWAYS.  355 

gives  it  quite  a  green  appearance.  The  Missouri,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  muddy  and  turbulent,  bringing  with  it  even 
at  low  water  a  large  quantity  of  sand  and  sediment.  At 
high  water  it  brings  with  it  trees  and  anything  else  that 
happens  to  come  within  its  reach,  but  at  all  periods  of  the 
year  its  water  is  more  or  less  muddy.  At  the  junction  of 
the  two  rivers  the  difference  in  color  of  the  water  is  very 
apparent,  and,  strange  to  say,  there  is  not  a  complete 
intermingling  until  several  miles  have  been  covered  by  the 
current.  Under  ordinary  conditions,  the  western  portion 
of  the  current  is  very  much  darker  in  shade  than  the 
eastern,  even  twenty  miles  from  what  is  generally  spoken 
of  as  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri. 

The  Muddy  Missouri  rises  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It 
is  really  formed  by  the  junction  of  three  rivers — the  Jef- 
ferson, the  Gallatin  and  the  Madison.  By  a  strange 
incongruity,  the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri  are  within  a 
mile  of  those  of  the  Columbia,  although  the  two  rivers  run 
in  opposite  directions,  the  Columbia  entering  the  Pacific 
Ocean  and  the  Missouri  finding  an  inlet  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  via  the  Mississippi.  At  a  distance  of  441  miles 
from  the  extreme  point  of  the  navigation  of  the  head 
branches  of  the  Missouri,  are  what  are  denominated  as  the 
"Gates  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,"  which  present  an 
exceedingly  grand  and  picturesque  appearance.  For  a 
distance  of  about  six  miles  the  rocks  rise  perpendicularly 
from  the  margin  of  the  river  to  the  height  of  1,200  feet. 
The  river  itself  is  compressed  to  the  breadth  of  150  yards, 
and  for  the  first  three  miles  there  is  but  one  spot,  and  that 
only  of  a  few  yards,  on  which  a  man  can  stand  between 
the  water  and  the  perpendicular  ascent  of  the  mountain. 

At  a  distance  of  110  miles  below  this  point,   and   551 


356  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

miles  from  the  source,  are  the  "Great  Falls,"  nearly 
2,600  miles  from  the  egress  of  the  Missouri  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi River.  At  this  place  the  river  descends  by  a 
succession  of  rapids,  and  falls  a  distance  of  351  feet  in 
sixteen  and  one-half  miles.  The  lower  and  greater  fall 
has  a  perpendicular  pitch  of  98  feet,  the  second  of  19,  the 
third  of  47  and  the  fourth  of  26  feet.  Between  and  below 
these  falls  there  are  continuous  rapids  of  from  3  to  18 
feet  descent.  The  falls,  next  to  those  of  Niagara,  are  the 
grandest  on  the  continent. 

Below  the  "Great  Falls"  there  is  no  substantial  ob- 
struction to  navigation,  except  that  during  the  midsummer 
and  fall  months,  after  the  July  rise,  there  is  frequently 
insufficient  water  for  steamboating.  This  results  from  the 
fact  that,  although  the  Missouri  Eiver  drains  a  large  area 
of  country  and  receives  many  tributaries,  some  of  which 
are  navigable  for  many  hundreds  of  miles,  it  passes  for  a 
great  portion  of  its  course  through  a  dry  and  open  country, 
where  the  process  of  evaporation  is  very  rapid.  The 
channel  is  rendered  intricate  by  the  great  number  of 
islands  and  sandbars,  and  in  many  cases  it  is  made  excep- 
tionally hazardous  by  reason  of  countless  snags. 

Volumes  have  been  written  concerning  the  adventures 
of  pioneers  and  gold  hunters,  who  went  up  the  Missouri  in 
advance  of  railroads  and  even  civilization,  in  order  to  trade 
with  the  Indians  or  to  search  for  yellow  metal  in  the  great 
hills  in  the  unexplored  country,  where  so  much  in  the  way 
of  easily  acquired  wealth  is  looked  for.  Some  of  the 
wealthiest  men  in  the  West  to-day  have  a  vivid  recollec- 
tion of  the  dangers  they  encountered  on  the  voyage  up 
this  river,  and  of  the  enemies  they  had  to  either  meet  or 
avoid.  Sometimes  hostile  Indians  would  attack  a  boat 


OUlt    GEE  AT    WATERWAYS.  357 

amid-stream  from  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  when  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  bring  gold  or  costly  merchandise  down 
the  river,  daring  attacks  were  often  made  by  white  robbers, 
whose  ferocity  and  murderous  designs  were  quite  as  con- 
spicuous as  those  of  the  aboriginal  tribes.  Many  a  murder 
was  committed,  and  the  seeds  were  sown  for  countless 
mysteries  and  unexplained  disappearances. 

The  Ohio  River  is  another  of  the  great  tributaries  of 
the  Mississippi.  In  years  gone  by  the  importance  of  this 
waterway  was  enormous.  The  Mississippi  itself  runs 
through  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Missouri, 
Arkansas,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Mississippi  and  Louisiana. 
The  Ohio  taps  and  drains  a  much  older  country  than  many 
of  these  States,  and  hence  its  importance  in  the  days  when 
Cincinnati  was  the  great  gateway  of  the  West  and  a  man- 
ufacturing city  of  first  importance. 

The  Ohio  is  a  great  river  for  more  than  a  thousand 
miles,  and  connects  Pittsburg  with  Cairo,  running  through 
such  important  towns  as  Louisville  and  Cincinnati.  On 
this  river  some  of  the  most  interesting  events  in  river 
history  have  been  enacted  in  the  past.  Many  a  tragedy 
and  many  a  comedy  are  included  in  its  annals,  and  even 
to-day,  although  paralleled,  crossed  and  recrossed  by  rail- 
roads, it  is  a  most  important  highway  of  commerce. 

The  Tennessee  River  is  a  tributary  of  the  Ohio,  which 
it  enters  so  near  the  Mississippi  as  to  have  a  very  close 
connection  with  that  great  river.  Entering  the  Ohio  at 
Paducah,  Kentucky,  the  Tennessee  is  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  important  rivers  east  of  the  Mississippi.  It  is 
formed  by  the  union  of  two  rivers  which  rise  in  the 
Allegheny  Mountains  and  unite  at  Kingston,  Tennessee. 
The  river  then  runs  southwest  through  Alabama,  and  turn- 


358  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

ing  northward,  passes  through  portions  of  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky.  In  length  the  Tennessee  exceeds  1,200  miles, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  very  dangerous  places  here  and 
there,  it  is  strictly  a  navigable  river. 

Running  as  it  does,  through  a  country  not  yet 
thoroughly  supplied  with  railroad  accommodation,  the 
Tennessee  forms  an  important  connection  between  a  num- 
ber of  small  shipping  points,  which  would  otherwise  be 
cut  off  from  commercial  intercourse  with  large  centers. 
Hence  the  transportation  facilities  are  good,  and  in  many 
respects  remind  one  of  old  days  when  river  traffic  was 
general.  Boats  run  almost  all  the  year  around  up  this 
river  as  far  as  Alabama  points,  and  not  only  is  a  large  and 
lucrative  freight  business  transacted,  but  pleasure  and 
health-seekers  are  also  carried  in  large  numbers. 

Everything  was  not  prosaic  in  river  life  in  the  old  days. 
All  of  us  have  heard  of  the  great  races  on  the  Mississippi 
River  between  magnificent  steamers,  and  of  the  excitement 
on  deck  as  first  one  and  then  the  other  gained  a  slight 
advantage.  Stories,  more  or  less  reliable,  have  been  told 
again  and  again  of  the  immense  sums  of  money  made  and 
lost  by  speculators  who  backed  their  own  boats  against  all 
comers.  Tricks  and  jokes  also  prevailed  and  continue  up 
to  the  present  time.  The  passenger  on  a  Tennessee  River 
boat  is  almost  sure  to  be  told  how  a  very  popular  first 
mate  escaped  arrest  by  disguising  himself  as  a  cook.  The 
story  is  amusing  enough  to  bear  repetition,  and  bereft  of 
corroborative  detail,  evidently  designed  to  lend  artistic 
verisimilitude  to  the  narrative,  it  is  as  follows: 

The  boat  was  detained  at  a  landing  at  a  small  Kentucky 
town  where  the  laws  against  gambling  were  supposed  to  be 
very  strict.  Some  of  the  officers  of  the  boat  were 


r    i 


OUR    GEE  AT    WATERWAYS.  361 

determined  to  kill  time  by  staking  a  few  dollars  at  poker, 
faro  or  something  worse,  and  inquiries  were  made  in  con- 
sequence as  to  where  a  game  could  be  found.  These  re- 
sulted satisfactorily  from  the  gamblers'  standpoint,  and  the 
crowd  took  themselves  to  the  appointed  spot,  taking  with 
them  the  very  stout,  good-natured,  but  not  very  speculative 
first  mate.  The  game  was  played  in  a  small  room  at  the  rear 
of  an  almost  equally  small  restaurant.  Everything  went 
well  for  awhile,  and  those  who  were  winning  thought  they 
had  everything  the  heart  could  possibly  desire.  All  at 
once  one  of  the  colored  help  came  rushing  in  with  a  notifi- 
cation that  the  place  was  being  raided. 

It  was  a  case  of  every  man  for  himself.  As  is  usual  in 
cases  of  this  kind,  one  or  two  got  under  the  table,  where  of 
course  they  were  promptly  found  and  arrested.  Two  others 
jumped  out  of  the  window,  into  the  arms  of  two  deputies, 
who  were  standing  there  to  receive  them.  The  mate, 
caught  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  in  a  gambling  resort, 
thought  of  a  very  good  plan  of  escape.  Snatching  up  his 
hat  and  coat  he  walked  into  the  kitchen,  where  he  found  a 
good-natured  colored  lady  hard  at  work  stirring  batter  in 
anticipation  of  some  table  luxury  for  a  coming  meal. 
With  admirable  presence  of  mind  the  mate  picked  up  an 
apron,  tied  it  around  him  and  telling  "mammy"  to  take  a 
few  minutes'  rest  as  she  was  evidently  overtired,  he  seized 
her  wooden  spoon  and  went  on  stirring  the  batter  as 
though  he  had  never  done  anything  else  in  his  life. 

In  the  meantime  every  other  member  of  the  party  had 
been  caught  and  taken  to  the  little  frame  building  which 
answered  the  purpose  of  jail  and  police-court  combined. 
Various  conjectures  were  exchanged  as  to  the  fate  of  the 
mate,  whose  ignorance  of  the  events  incidental  to  gambling 

21 


362  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

raids  was  expected  to  prove  very  inconvenient  to  him  in  a 
variety  of  ways.  All  anxiety  on  this  score  was,  however, 
thrown  away.  The  old  man  acted  his  part  so  well  that 
when  the  raiders  saw  hi:u  laboriously  at  work  with  the 
wooden  spoon  they  concluded  that  he  was  a  member  of  the 
establishment.  In  consequence  of  this  they  let  him  alone, 
and  when  the  raid  was  over  he  replaced  his  hat  and  coat, 
with  the  indifference  and  nonchalance  of  an  experienced, 
actor,  and  went  quietly  back  to  the  boat. 

Here  he  informed  friends  of  the  incarcerated  individuals 
of  the  fix  they  were  in,  and  advised  them  to  go  to  their  re- 
lease, preferring  himself  to  keep  as  far  as  possible  from 
the  representatives  of  the  law.  Liberty  was  obtained  by 
the  payment  of  considerable  sums  in  the  way  of  fines  and 
costs,  and  although  the  event  took  place  some  years  ago, 
the  way  in  which  the  inexperienced  gambler  escaped,  while 
his  more  hardened  and  experienced  friends  were  caught,  is 
still  a  constant  source  of  merriment  among  officers  and 
passengers. 

It  was  while  enjoying  a  delightful  and  distinctly  sensa- 
tional trip  on  the  Columbia  River  that  the  passengers  were 
enlightened  as  to  a  comparatively  old  trick,  which  was 
executed  with  the  utmost  promptness  and  despatch  by  a 
young  second  mate.  This  .young  man  was  never  known  to 
have  any  money.  Generous  in  the  extreme,  and  heartily 
full  of  fun,  he  managed  to  get  rid  of  his  salary  as  promptly 
as  it  was  paid  him,  and  his  impecuniosity  was  a  standing 
joke  among  members  of  the  crew  and  regular  passengers. 
On  one  occasion  the  boat  met  with  an  accident,  and  was 
tied  up  at  a  small  town  for  four  or  five  days.  The  hero  of 
the  story,  with  a  number  of  other  light-hearted  individuals, 
naturally  went  ashore  on  pleasure  bent.  They  had  what  is 


OUR    GREAT    WATERWAYS.  363 

generally  called  a  good  time,  but  what  little  funds  they  had 
when  they  started  were  soon  exhausted. 

Two  or  three  councils  of  war  were  held  as  to  how  a  sup- 
ply of  liquid  refreshments,  of  a  character  not  included  in  the 
temperance  man's  bill  of  fare,  could  be  obtained.  Finally, 
the  second  mate  undertook  to  secure  the  needful  without 
the  expenditure  of  any  money.  He  borrowed  a  heavy  over- 
coat belonging  to  one  of  the  party,  and  then  hunted  up  two 
large  wine  bottles.  One  of  these  he  filled  with  water  and 
securely  corked.  The  other  he  took  empty,  and  with  these 
in  his  pockets  entered  the  saloon.  Producing  the  empty 
bottle  he  asked  the  bar-keeper  how  much  he  would  charge 
for  filling  it,  and  on  hearing  the  amount  told  him  to  go 
ahead. 

As  soon  as  the  bottle  was  filled  and  returned  to  the 
second  mate,  he  slipped  it  in  his  pocket,  and  in  a  very 
matter-of-fact  manner  began  to  make  arrangments  for  the 
liquidation  of  the  debt,  at  a  convenient  period.  The  saloon- 
man  naturally  resented  any  discussion  of  this  character, 
and  told  his  customer  to  either  pay  for  the  liquor  or  return 
it  right  away.  Assuming  an  air  of  injured  innocence,  our 
friend  took  out  the  bottle  of  water,  handed  it  to  the  bar- 
keeper and  said  he  "guessed  he'd  have  to  take  it  back." 
The  unsuspecting  purveyor  of  liquor  that  both  cheers  and 
inebriates,  grumbled  considerably,  emptied  the  bottle  of 
water  into  the  demijohn  of  whisky,  handed  back  the  bottle 
to  the  apparently  disconsolate  seeker  after  credit,  and  told 
him  to  "get  out." 

Naturally,  no  second  order  was  necessary.  Five  min- 
utes later,  the  entire  party  could  have  been  seen  sharing 
the  contents  of  the  bottle  which  had  not  been  emptied, 
but  which  they  lost  no  time  in  emptying.  The  trick 


364  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

answered  its  purpose  admirably.  When,  about  two  weeks 
later,  the  man  who  had  played  it  was  again  in  the  town,  he 
called  at  the  saloon  to  pay  for  the  whisky.  He  was 
treated  very  kindly,  but  hints  were  freely  given  as  to  the 
necessity  of  a  keeper  accompanying  him  on  his  travels. 
In  other  words,  the  bar- keeper  declined  distinctly  to  be- 
lieve that  he  had  been  hoodwinked  as  stated.  This  feature 
of  the  joke  was,  in  the  opinion  of  its  perpetrators,  the 
most  amusing  feature  of  all,  and  it  need  hardly  be  said 
that  very  little  effort  was  made  to  disabuse  the  unbelieving 
but  somewhat  over-credulous  bar-keeper. 

The  Columbia  Kiver  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and 
remarkable  on  the  continent.  Rising,  as  it  does,  quite 
near  the  source  of  the  Missouri  River,  it  runs,  by  a  very 
circuitous  route,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  being  in  places 
very  narrow,  and  in  others  abnormally  wide.  The  Dalles 
of  the  Columbia  are  known  the  world  over.  They  are 
situated  some  sixty  or  seventy  miles  west  of  the  city  of 
Portland,  and  are  within  easy  distance  of  the  American 
Mount  Blanc.  They  extend  from  Dalles  Station,  a  small 
town  on  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  to  Celilo,  another 
station  about  fifteen  miles  farther  east.  Between  these 
two  points  the  bed  of  the  Columbia  is  greatly  reduced  in 
width,  and  its  boundaries  are  two  huge  walls  of  rock, 
which  rise  almost  perpendicularly  from  the  water  level. 
The  width  of  the  chasm,  through  which  the  water  rushes 
wildly,  varies  considerably,  but  at  no  point  in  the  western 
section  does  it  exceed  130  feet,  although  on  either  side  of 
the  Dalles  the  width  of  the  river  itself  ranged  from  about 
2,000  to  much  more  than  2,500  feet. 

As  the  volume  of  water  is  enormous  at  this  point, 
especially  after  rain  and  much  melting  of  snow,  there  is 


OUR    GREAT    WATERWAYS.  365 

often  a  rise  of  fifty  feet  in  a  few  hours  in  the  narrow 
channel  of  the  Dalles.  Sometimes  the  rise  exceeds  seventy 
feet,  and  an  effect  most  extraordinary  in  character  results. 
From  many  points  along  the  river  banks,  Mount  Hood  can 
be  seen  towering  away  up  into  the  clouds.  The  bluffs 
themselves  are  marvels  of  formation,  very  difficult  to 
explain  or  account  for.  When  the  water  is  low,  there  is 
an  exposure  of  almost  vertical  cliffs.  The  bluffs  vary  in 
height  to  a  remarkable  extent,  and  the  lower  the  water, 
the  more  grotesque  the  appearance  of  the  figures  along 
them.  When  the  water  is  very  low,  there  is  a  cascade,  or 
waterfall,  every  few  feet,  presenting  an  appearance  of 
continuous  uproar  and  froth,  very  attractive  to  the  sight- 
seer, but  very  objectionable  from  the  standpoint  of  navi- 
gation. 

When  the  water  is  high,  these  cascades  are  lost  sight 
of,  and  the  rocks  which  form  them  are  covered  with  one 
raging  torrent,  which  seems  inclined  to  dash  everything 
to  one  side  in  its  headlong  course  towards  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Logging  is  a  most  important  use  to  which  the 
Columbia  River  is  put,  and  when  immense  masses  of 
timber  come  thundering  down  the  Dalles,  at  a  speed  some- 
times as  great  as  fifty  miles  an  hour,  all  preconceived 
notions  of  order  and  safety  are  set  at  naught.  There  is 
one  timber  shoot,  more  than  3,000  feet  long,  down  which 
the  logs  rush  so  rapidly  that  scarcely  twenty  seconds  is 
occupied  in  the  entire  trip.  The  Dalles  generally  may  be 
described  as  a  marvelous  trough,  and  the  name  is  a  French 
word,  which  well  signifies  this  feature. 

Farther  down  the  river,  and  near  the  city  of  Portland, 
there  are  some  very  delightful  falls,  not  exceptionally 
large  or  high,  but  very  delightful  in  character,  and  full  of 


366  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

contradictions  and  peculiarities.  Steamboating  on  the 
Columbia  River,  in  its  navigable  sections,  is  exceedingly 
pleasant  and  instructive.  The  river  is  the  largest  in 
America  which  empties  into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  For  more 
than  140  miles  it  is  navigable  by  steamers  of  the  largest 
kind,  while  other  vessels  can  get  up  very  much  higher,  and 
nearer  the  picturesque  source.  On  some  sections  of  it, 
glaciers  of  great  magnitude  can  be  seen,  and  there  are 
also  many  points  concerning  which  legend  and  tradition 
have  been  very  busy.  According  to  one  of  these  tradi- 
tions, the  Indians  who  formerly  lived  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  were  as  brave  as  the  ancient  Spartans  and  Greeks, 
though  if  this  is  approximately  correct,  the  law  and  argu- 
ment of  descent  must  be  entirely  erroneous,  for  the  Indians 
of  this  section  to-day  rank  among  the  meanest  and  most 
objectionable  of  the  entire  country. 

An  artistic  illustration  is  given  of  the  "whaleback" 
steamer,  used  principally  on  our  Northern  lakes.  The 
whaleback  varies  from  a  somewhat  clumsy  looking  craft, 
resembling  in  appearance  very  much  the  back  of  a  whale, 
to  the  much  more  attractive  and  navigable  craft  shown  in 
the  illustration.  These  whalebacks  have  a  very  important 
part  to  play  in  internal  navigation.  It  seems  able  to  with- 
stand, readily,  bad  weather  and  rough  water.  Unlike  most 
vessels  which  are  safe  under  these  conditions,  it  requires 
very  little  water  to  be  safely  navigated,  and  it  can  carry 
heavy  loads  in  six  or  eight  feet  of  water. 

The  revival  of  the  steamboat  trade  on  our  great  rivers, 
and  the  recovering  from  the  railroads  of  at  least  a  portion 
of  the  trade  stolen  away,  is  a  pet  hobby  among  river  men 
generally,  and  especially  among  those  whose  parents  taught 
them  from  the  cradle  up  the  true  importance  of  the  mag- 


OUR    GREAT    WATERWAYS.  367 

nificent  internal  waterways  bountifully  provided  for  our 
native  land  by  an  all-wise  Providence.  It  is  seriously 
proposed  to  attempt  this  revival  by  aid  of  whaleback 
steamers,  and  if  the  project  is  carried  out,  the  success 
which  will  attend  the  effort  is  likely  to  agreeably  surprise 
even  the  most  enthusiastic  among  those  who  are  now  ad- 
vocating it. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THROUGH  THE  GREAT  NORTHWEST. 

The  Importance  of  Some  of  our  Newest  States — Romantic  History  of 
Montana — The  Bad  Lands  and  their  Exact  Opposite— Civilization 
Away  Up  in  the  Mountains — Indians  who  have  Never  Quarreled 
with  White  Men — Traditions  Concerning  Mount  Tacoma — Won- 
derful Towns  of  the  Extreme  Northwest — A  State  Shaped  like  a 
Large  Chair — The  Falls  of  Shoshone. 

ITHIN  the  last  few  years  new  States  have  been 
admitted  into  the  Union  which,  in  themselves, 
form  a  magnificent  empire.  We  allude  to  the  great 
Northwestern  Territories  which  have  become  States  within 
the  last  decade,  and  which  have  added  so  much  luster  to 
the  escutcheon  of  our  native  land.  The  utmost  ignorance 
prevails  as  to  these  States,  and  as  to  the  northwestern 
corner  of  the  United  States  proper,  a  term  generally 
applied  to  this  great  Republic,  with  the  exception  of 
Alaska. 

Every  now  and  again  the  report  comes  of  a  great  forest 
fire  in  the  Northwest,  and  occasionally  the  world  is  horrified 
by  reports  of  a  terrible  calamity  of  this  character,  involv- 
ing great  loss  of  life  and  property.  Owing  to  this  fact 
there  is  a  tendency  to  look  on  the  northwestern  tier  of 
States  as  one  huge  forest,  ever  offering  a  temptation  to 
that  terrible  destructive  agency — fire.  People  who  profess 
to  have  made  tours  through  the  country,  add  to  the  com- 
plication by  enlarging  on  this  one  characteristic,  and  omit- 
ting all  reference  to  the  other  features,  in  which  the  great 
Northwest  towers  head  and  shoulders  above  competitors, 

(368) 


THE  GREAT  NORTHWEST.  369 

and  teaches  the  entire  world  a  lesson  in  productiveness, 
fertility,  and,  we  may  add,  industry. 

The  World's  Fair  served  to  very  largely  disabuse  the 
public  mind  concerning  what  is  destined  to  become  one  of 
the  wealthiest  sections  of  the  United  States.  The  elegant 
State  buildings  that  were  erected  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Michigan,  and  the  gorgeous  displays  of  fruits,  grain,  ore, 
and  different  products,  must  have  convinced  the  average 
visitor  that  there  was  a  great  deal  more  in  the  far  West 
and  Northwest  than  he  had  dreamt  of.  Many  were  induced 
in  consequence  of  the  information  they  received,  to  blend 
their  fortunes  with  the  young  States,  and  although  the 
financial  condition  of  the  country  has  not  been  calculated 
to  expedite  the  fulfillment  of  their  Aladdin-like  hopes, 
most  of  them  have  done  well  enough  to  be  able  to  con- 
gratulate themselves  on  the  change  in  tiie  location  and 
occupation. 

We  can  only  speak  of  some  of  the  most  remarkable 
features  of  this  great  section,  greater,  indeed,  than  several 
Old  World  nations  combined.  Helena  is  the  capital  of  one 
of  these  new  States,  to  which  is  given  the  euphonic  name 
of  Montana.  The  name  is  very  appropriate,  as  it  signifies 
"belonging  to  the  mountains."  The  Indians  had  a  very 
similar  name  for  the  territory  now  included  in  the  State, 
and  Judge  Eddy  called  it  the  "Bonanza  State"  because  of  its 
mining  sensations,  a  name  which  has  clung  to  it  with  much 
fidelity  ever  since.  The  arms  of  the  State  are  significant 
and  almost  allegorical.  The  present  is  linked  with  the 
past  by  means  of  a  retreating  buffalo,  significant  of  the 
extermination  of  this  interesting  and  valuable  species. 
The  great  mining  resources  of  Montana  are  shown  by  a 
miner's  pick  and  shovel,  and  in  the  rearground  the  sun  is 


370  MY  NATIVE   LAND. 

setting  behind  eminences  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Montana  was  first  discovered  by  Canadians,  some  two 
hundred  years  ago.  The  first  permanent  settlement  was 
early  in  the  present  century,  and,  until  within  the  last  fifty 
years,  all  goods  and  utensils  used  in  it  were  dragged  up 
the  Missouri  River  from  St.  Louis,  a  distance  of  nearly 
2,000  miles.  When  the  war  broke  out,  the  Territory  was 
occupied  almost  entirely  by  Indians,  with  a  few  daring  fur 
traders  and  a  number  of  missionaries,  who,  in  exercise  of 
their  duty,  had  no  fear  at  all.  The  discovery  of  gold 
which  took  place  almost  simultaneously  with  the  firing  of 
the  first  shot  in  the  conflict  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  brought  thousands  of  adventurers  from  all  parts  of 
the  Union  and  introduced  millions  of  capital.  Some  of  the 
mines  turned  out  phenomenally  successful,  and  although 
there  were  the  usual  heart-burnings  on  account  of  failures, 
the  average  of  success  was  very  great.  The  State's  gold 
mines  have  yielded  fabulous  sums,  and  more  recently  steps 
Jiave  been  taken  to  extract  from  the  quartz  and  rock  a  full 
measure  of  wealth  that  is  to  be  found  there. 

Montana  is  a  Northwestern  State  in  fact  as  well  as 
name.  It  is  situated  on  the  high  plateau  between  the 
Continental  Divide  and  the  Bitter  Root  Range.  Fully  one- 
fifth  of  its  area  lies  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  its 
northern  boundary  is  the  snow-covered  region  of  Canada 
and  British  Columbia.  The  eastern  portion  of  the  State, 
bordering  upon  the  Dakotas,  is  for  the  most  part  prairie 
land,  rising  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  the  west,  and  form- 
ing the  approach  to  the  mighty  Rockies.  The  western 
portion,  bordering  upon  Idaho,  is  much  more  mountainous 
in  character.  Some  50,000  square  miles  of  hilly  country 
are  to  be  seen  here,  many  of  the  peaks  rising  to  heights 


THE  GREAT  NORTHWEST.  371 

exceeding  10,000  feet.  The  State  alone  is  larger  in  area 
than  the  entire  British  Islands,  and  it  is  infinitely  larger 
than  the  whole  of  New  England.  That  it  is  a  country  of 
magnificent  distances,  is  shown  from  the  fact  that  the 
northern  frontier  equals  in  length  the  distance  between 
the  great  seat  of  learning  and  culture  in  Massachusetts  and 
the  capital  city  of  the  short-lived  Confederacy. 

Although  most  of  Montana  is  rich  in  either  agriculture 
or  mineral,  a  considerable  area  is  occupied  by  the  notorious 
Bad  Lands.  General  Sully  described  these  lands  very  accu- 
rately, or  at  least  aptly,  when  he  said  that  they  reminded 
him  of  "the  other  place  with  the  fires  out."  So  many 
descriptions  of  the  Bad  Lands  have  been  given,  that  we 
need-  scarcely  refer  to  them  at  great  length.  The  clay, 
rock  and  peculiar  dust  which  lies  all  around  this  territory 
becomes,  on  the  slightest  provocation,  the  nastiest  kind  of 
quicksand.  Nothing  can  thrive  or  prosper  in  the  Bad 
Lands  which,  however,  are  full  of  evidences  of  prehistoric 
life  and  which,  perhaps,  at  one  time  were  the  scenes  of 
activity  and  even  prosperity. 

In  exact  contrast  to  the  Bad  Lands  is  the  Gallatin 
Valley,  about  four  hundred  square  miles  in  extent.  It  is 
stated  to  be  one  of  the  most  fertile  spots  in  the  world,  and 
by  common  consent  it  has  been  called  the  Egypt  of 
Montana.  A  portion  of  it  has  been  cultivated,  and  its 
yield  per  acre  has  been  found  to  be  prodigious.  At  no 
great  distance  from  this  fertile  spot,  two  of  America's  most 
remarkable  rivers  have  their  rise.  The  greatest  of  these  is 
the  Missouri,  which,  measured  from  its  source  to  final  en- 
trance into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  along  the  bed  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  is  really  the  longest  river  in  the  world.  Away 
up  here  in  the  mountains,  the  Missouri,  which  subsequently 


372  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

becomes  one  of  the  most  treacherous  and  destructive  rivers 
in  the  universe,  runs  through  picturesque  canons  and  over 
great  gorges  of  rock,  finally  leaving  the  State  a  great  river, 
though  still  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the  volume  it 
is  to  assume,  and  the  drainage  work  it  is  to  accomplish 
farther  away  from  the  mighty  hills  among  which  it  had  its 
source. 

The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  runs  through  this  won- 
derful State,  with  so  great  a  future  before  it.  Helena,  the 
capital  city  of  Montana,  was  originally  a  mining  camp,  and 
early  prophecies  were  that  it  would  not  outlive  the  mining 
enthusiasm.  These  prophecies,  however,  have  proved  en- 
tirely mistaken.  It  is  no  longer  a  mere  mining  town,  with 
rough,  busy,  uncultured  men  rushing  hither  and  thither  in 
the  eager  pursuit  of  their  daily  avocation.  It  is  now  not 
only  the  judicial  capital  of  Montana,  but  it  is  also  the 
great  center  of  educational  advance.  It  has  a  number  of 
very  handsome  public  buildings,  and  is  the  home  of  many 
men,  who,  having  made  their  fortunes  in  the  mines  of  the 
new  Northwest,  have  been  so  impressed  with  the  beauties 
of  scenery  and  climate,  that  they  have  decided  to  abide 
where  at  first  they  merely  intended  to  sojourn.  Helena 
is  more  than  4,000  feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  its  20,000 
inhabitants  are  reputed  to  be  worth  more  than  $100,- 
000,000.  The  apostle  of  socialism  or  communism  who 
suggested  an  equal  division  among  the  60,000,000  of  our 
people  of  all  the  wealth  of  the  nation,  would  find  little  en- 
couragement in  this  great  mountain  city,  where  poverty, 
if  not  unknown,  is  very  scarce. 

Much  more  typical  as  a  mining  city  is  Butte.  This  is 
situated  upon  a  hill  quite  peculiarly  located,  and  is  reached 
by  a  ride  along  the  Silver  Bow  Valley.  Close  here  is  the 


THE  ORE  A  T  NOR  THWE8  T.  373 

wonderful  Anaconda  mine.  The  mines  in  the  neighbor- 
hood have  a  reputation  for  immense  yield,  the  annual  ex- 
tracts of  gold,  silver  and  copper  being  valued  at  more  than 
$33,000,000.  The  Anaconda  smelter,  built  some  twelve 
years  ago,  is  said  to  be  the  largest  in  the  world,  and  the 
town  itself  seems  to  literally  talk  mining  by  its  streets,  its 
houses,  its  business,  its  habits  and  its  people. 

Missoula  is  the  third  largest  city  of  Montana.  Its  site 
is  a  splendid  one  for  a  city.  The  Hell*  Gate  Canon  and 
River  merge  into  a  magnificent  plain,  the  foot  of  the  noted 
Bitter  Root  Valley.  The  Hell  Gate  River  breaks  out  from 
the  canon  and  mountains  into  the  wide  plain  and  sweeps 
majestically  across  the  extreme  northern  limit  of  it, 
hugging  closely  the  Mission  Range  to  the  north.  At  the 
western  side  of  the  valley  the  Bitter  Root  River  combines 
with  the  Hell  Gate,  and  together,  and  now  under  the  name 
of  the  Missoula  River,  they  flow  westward  between  high 
mountains.  The  northern  end  of  the  valley  is  perhaps  six 
miles  or  more  wide.  The  great  opening  in  the  mountain  is 
rather  triangular  in  shape,  with  the  apex  of  the  triangle 
many  miles  up  the  valley  to  the  south.  Here  is  a  city  laid 
out  and  built  up  in  perfect  harmony  with  its  location,  as  is 
evidenced  by  the  tasteful  manner  in  wilich  the  place  is 
planned  and  the  character  of  its  business  blocks  and  resi- 
dences. Telephones,  electric  lights,  and  water  supply  are 
found  even  in  the  remote  suburbs  of  Missoula. 

The  mountains  literally  hem  them  in.  Immediately  to 
the  northeast  is  a  bare  hill  that  is  startling  in  its  re- 
semblance to  an  animal.  It  is  like  a  huge,  recumbent 
elephant,  the  hind  quarters  of  which  form  the  northern 
end  of  Hell  Gate  Canon,  around  which  the  railroad  curves 
as  it  issues  from  the  canon.  The  " Mammoth  Jumbo,"  as  it 


374  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

is  appropriately  known,  reclines  with  head  to  the  north 
and  trunk  stretched  out  behind  him.  One  eve  is  plainly 
seen,  and  one  huge  shoulder  is  visible.  Down  in  the 
south,  sharp,  decisive,  with  a  steep,  rocky  escarpment 
facing  us,  and  a  long  .ridge  descending  from  it,  is  Lolo 
Peak,  of  the  Bitter  Eoot  Range,  a  noted  landmark.  This 
overhangs  Lolo  Pass,  through  which  Chief  Joseph  came  in 
his  famous  retreat  from  General  Howard  in  1877,  which 
terminated  in  the  battle  of  the  Bear  Paw  Mountains, 
October  5th,  where  the  brave  and  able  chieftain  was  cap- 
tured with  the  rest  of  his  tribe,  when  almost  within  reach 
of  freedom  just  across  the  Canadian  border. 

At  the  southern  extremity  of  the  valley  on  the  banks  of 
the  Bitter  Root  River,  and  with  the  range  serving  as  an 
effective  background,  is  Fort  Missoula,  a  pleasantly  located 
military  post.  Several  interpretations  of  the  meaning  of 
the  word  "Missoula"  are  given.  Father  Guidi,  a  priest  of 
long  residence  in  the  country,  gave  me  what  he  considers 
the  true  one,  which  also  indicates  the  manner  in  which  the 
Hell  Gate  Canon  and  River  were  christened.  The  spot 
where  Missoula  is  located  was  once  the  scene  of  conflict 
between  the  various  tribes  of  Indians.  The  "Flatheads" 
and  "Blackfeet"  were  deadly  enemies,  and,  presumably, 
may  have  fought  over  this  lovely  spot.  At  any  rate,  the 
ground  just  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hell  Gate  Canon  was 
covered  long  ago  with  skulls  and  human  bones. 

These  Flathead  Indians  are  noted  for  the  fact  that  they 
have  never  adopted  a  hostile  attitude  towards  white  people. 
They  are  advanced  in  civilization,  as  readers  of  Chapter 
IX  and  its  accompanying  illustration  will  have  noted. 
Tradition  states  that  their  religion  demands  that  the  head 
of  every  infant  must  be  flattened  by  means  of  a  board  be- 


THE  GREAT  NORTHWEST.  375 

fore  the  bones  harden  sufficiently  to  assume  a  shape.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  none  of  the  surviving  members  of  the 
tribe  have  particularly  flat  heads,  and  all  deny  emphatically 
the  statement  that  nature  is  ever  interfered  with  in  the 
manner  stated.  These  Indians  call  themselves  "Selish,"  a 
name  apparently  without  reason  or  derivation.  The  Flat- 
head  Reservation  was  formed  about  forty  years  ago.  On 
three  sides  it  is  walled  in  by  high  mountains,  and  it  con- 
sists of  about  2,240  square  miles  of  territory.  The  railway 
station,  Arlee,  is  so  named  after  the  last  war  chief  of  the 
Flatheads.  Passengers  are  often  amused  by  the  gaudily 
decked  Indians  who  are  seen  at  this  station,  which  is  quite 
near  the  reservation. 

An  interesting  story  attaches  to  the  Jocko  River  and 
Reservation.  It  is  stated  that  an  Irishman  named  Jacob 
Finley  established  a  ranch  on  the  river  early  in  the  present 
century.  The  French  Canadians  who  settled  in  the  neigh- 
borhood and  intermarried  with  the  Indians,  called  Finley 
by  his  Christian  name  with  a  peculiar  French  pronunciation, 
which  made  it  sound  very  like  much  Jaco  or  Jocko — the 
latter  name  gradually  becoming  generally  adopted.  It  was 
quite  natural  to  call  the  river  and  the  valley  after  the  ranch 
owner,  and  the  name  finally  became  generally  accepted  as 
correct.  This  man  Finley  left  behind  him  a  family  of 
seventeen,  and  before  he  had  been  dead  many  years  his 
direct  descendants  numbered  within  three  or  four  of  an 
even  century. 

The  Indians  called  the  stream  the  Nlka,  an  unpro- 
nounceable combination  of  letters,  resulting  from  a  most 
interesting  though  variously  described  event. 

Mrs.  Ronan,  the  well-known  writer,  tells  an  interesting 
story  of  how  names  are  given  by  Indians.  Thus,  her  own 


376  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

daughter's  name  was  Isabel,  but  the  Indians  called  her 
1  'Sunshine."  In  February,  1887,  the  little  girl  was  born. 
For  some  days  prior  to  her  birth  the  weather  had  been 
gloomy  in  the  extreme.  Almost  simultaneously  with  the 
child's  birth  the  sun,  so  long  hidden  under  the  clouds, 
burst  forth  to  gladden  the  heart  of  man.  With  one 
accord,  the  Indians  declared  that  the  little  one  had  brought 
sunshine  with  her,  and  hence  the  name,  which,  as  subse- 
quent events  have  proved,  was  exceptionally  appropriate. 
Accompanying  this  chapter  is  an  illustration  of  Mount 
Tacoma.  This  mountain  is  one  of  the  most  attractive,  as 
well  as  lofty,  in  the  Northwest.  As  can  easily  be  supposed, 
traditions  without  number  are  connected  with  it.  No 
greater  mistake  can  be  made  than  to  imagine  that  the  In- 
dians who  are  found  in  this  region  are  naturally  atheistic, 
as  well  as  ignorant.  To  the  student  of  religion  there  is 
rather  an  inherent  belief  in  the  Supreme  Being  among 
these  people,  with  very  strong  proofs  of  the  truth  of  the 
divine  revelation.  One  of  the  traditions,  told  with  much 
fervor  and  earnestness  about  Tacoma,  involves  in  it  a 
Savior  of  mankind.  With  great  reverence  and  awe  the 
good  listener  among  the  band  of  tourists  is  told  that  at  one 
period — legends  are  seldom  very  specific  in  the  matter  of 
time  or  space — a  Savior  arrived  in  a  copper  canoe,  his 
mission  being  to  save  the  Sivvash  Indians,  who  were  spoken 
of  as  the  chosen  people  of  the  Great  Unseen.  That  some 
prophet  or  missionary  certainly  came  to  this  region  and 
preached  appears  to  be  evident  from  the  very  definite  sur- 
vival of  the  doctrines  taught  by  him.  His  creed  seems  to 
have  been  a  very  apt  blending  of  all  that  is  best  in  the 
teachings  of  Buddha,  with  many  of  the  precepts  of  the 
" Sermon  on  the  Mount"  added. 


THE  GREAT  NORTHWEST.  379 

Love  to  mankind,  the  evil  of  revenge,  and  the  glories 
of  forgiveness  form  the  principal  features  of  the  doctrine. 
The  legend,  or  tradition,  goes  on  to  say  that  so  violent 
was  the  opposition  to  this  crusader,  who  attacked  local 
institutions  so  bitterly,  that  finally  he  was  seized  and  nailed 
to  a  tree.  This  act  of  crucifixion  resulted  from  a  final 
sermon,  in  which  the  wanton  destruction  of  human  beings 
was  denounced  in  terms  of  great  vehemence.  As  nine, 
instead  of  seven  or  three,  is  the  general  number  talked  of 
in  this  section,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  story  should  go 
on  to  state  that  after  nine  days  the  "Mysterious  One"  was 
reanimated,  and  once  more  commenced  his  work  of  refor- 
mation and  tuition. 

Nothing  in  connection  with  the  story  can  be  objected 
to.  By  some  it  is  supposed  to  be  the  result  of  casual  im- 
migration from  the  regions  of  Palestine,  to  which  also  is 
attributed  the  story  of  the  flood. 

Among  nearly  all  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest  there 
is  a  flood  story,  or  legend,  and  there  must  be  hundreds  of 
Noahs  in  the  minds  of  the  story-tellers.  We  are  told,  for 
example,  that  when  the  Great  Spirit  flooded  the  entire 
earth,  there  was  not  quite  enough  water  to  cover  the 
summit  of  Mount  Tacoma.  The  man  chosen  to  prevent 
the  human  race  from  being  entirely  obliterated  was  warned 
in  a  dream,  or  by  some  other  means,  to  climb  to  the 
summit  of  this  great  mountain,  where  he  remained  until 
the  wicked  ones  below  him  were  annihilated,  without  a 
man,  woman  or  child  escaping.  After  the  flood  was  over 
and  the  waters  began  to  recede,  the  Great  Spirit  hypno- 
tized or  mesmerized  this  solitary  human  being,  and  created 
for  him  a  wife  of  exceptional  beauty.  Together  these  two 
recommenced  the  battle  of  life,  and,  as  the  legend  runs, 


380  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

every  human  being  in  existence  can  trace  his  lineage  to 
them. 

The  mountain  is  surely  worth  all  that  has  been  said 
about  it.  Its  great  height  has  already  been  commented 
upon.  Standing,  as  it  does,  with  its  summit  14,444  feet 
above  the  sea  level,  it  is  actually  a  sentinel  for  almost  the 
entire  State.  Hazard  Stevens,  the  first  man  to  climb 
Tacoma,  reported  that  it  was  so  called  by  the  Indians 
because  the  word  means,  in  their  vocabulary,  " mountain/' 
and  was  given  to  Tacoma  because  it  was  a  veritable  prince 
among  hills.  It  was  at  one  time  called  Eainier,  after  a 
British  lord,  but  the  Indian  name  has  generally  prevailed. 

Tacoma  has  been  described  by  many  tourists  as  a  rival 
to  the  most  vaunted  peaks  of  the  Swiss  Alps.  As  will  be 
seen  from  the  illustrations,  which  are  remarkably  good 
ones,  there  is  a  dim  mistiness  about  the  mountain.  When 
the  light  is  poor,  there  is  a  peculiar,  almost  unnatural,  look 
about  the  cloud-topped  peak.  When  the  clouds  are  very 
white,  the  line  of  demarcation  becomes  faint  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  it  is  very  hard  to  distinguish  one  from  the 
other.  Sometimes,  for  days  together,  the  mountain  is 
literally  cloud-capped,  and  its  peak  hidden  from  view. 
Those  who  are  fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  appreciate 
the  awful  and  unique  in  history,  never  tire  of  gazing  upon 
Tacoma.  They  are  glad  to  inspect  it  from  every  side. 
Some  call  it  a  whited  sepulchre.  There  was  a  time  when 
it  was  anything  but  the  calm,  peaceful  eminence  of  to-day. 
Every  indication  points  to  the  fact  that  it  was  once  among 
the  most  active  volcanoes  in  existence. 

There  is  a  town,  or  rather  city,  of  the  same  name  as 
the  mountain.  This  is  situated  on  Commencement  Bay. 
It  is  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  great  mountain  of 


THE  GREAT  NORTHWEST.  381 

which  we  have  spoken,  and  which  seems  to  guard  it 
against  foes  from  inland.  Fifteen  years  ago  it  was  a  mere 
village,  of  scarcely  any  importance.  It  has  rapidly  grown 
into  a  town  of  great  importance.  In  1873  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  decided  to  make  it  the  western 
terminus  of  their  important  system.  This  resulted  in 
renewed  life,  or  rather  in  a  genuine  birth  to  the  place, 
which  now  has  a  population  of  40,000  people,  and  is  an 
exceedingly  wealthy  and  prosperous  city.  The  Tacoma 
Land  Company,  ably  seconded  by  the  railroad,  has  fostered 
enterprise  in  this  place  in  the  most  hearty  manner,  and 
now  some  of  the  large  buildings  of  the  town,  of  the  very 
existence  of  which  many  Eastern  people  affected  ignorance, 
are  more  than  magnificent — they  are  majestic. 

Seattle  is  another  and  even  more  brilliant  diamond  in 
Washington's  crown.  It  is  a  great  city,  with  a  magnifi- 
cent harbor,  its  name  being  that  of  a  powerful  Indian 
chief  who,  when  the  town  was  founded  forty  years  ago, 
had  things  practically  his  own  way.  It  grew  in  import- 
ance very  rapidly,  but  in  1889  one  of  the  largest  fires  of 
modern  times  destroyed  $10,000,000  worth  of  property, 
including  the  best  blocks  and  commercial  structures  of 
the  city.  People  who  had  never  seen  Seattle  at  once 
assumed  that  the  city  was  dead,  and  speculation  was  rife 
as  to  what  place  would  secure  its  magnificent  trade.  Those 
who  thus  talked  were  entirely  ignorant  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  men  who  had  made  Seattle  what  it  was.  Within  a 
very  few  days  the  work  of  reconstruction  commenced. 
The  fire  hampered  the  city  somewhat,  and  checked  its 
progress.  But  Seattle  is  better  for  the  disaster,  and 
stands  to-day  a  monument  to  the  "nil  desperandum" 
policy  of  its  leaders. 


382  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

Spokane  Falls  is  another  wonderful  instance  of  North- 
western push  and  energy.  It  is  a  very  young  city,  the 
earliest  records  of  its  founding  not  going  back  farther 
than  1878.  When  the  census  of  1880  was  taken,  the  place 
wras  of  no  importance,  and  received  very  little  attention  at 
the  hands  of  the  enumerators.  In  1890  it  had  a  popula- 
tion of  some  20,000,  and  attracted  the  admiration  of  the 
entire  country  by  the  progress  it  had  made  in  the  matter 
of  electricity.  Its  water  power  is  tremendous,  and  taking 
full  advantage  of  this,  electricity  is  produced  at  low  cost 
and  used  for  every  available  and  possible  purpose. 

The  State  of  Washington,  in  which  these  three  cities 
are  situated,  borders  upon  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  is  one  of 
the  greatest  of  our  new  States.  The  first  modern  explorer 
of  the  territory  was  a  Spaniard,  followed  a  few  years  later 
by  English  sailors.  Just  at  the  end  of  the  last  century, 
some  Boston  capitalists,  for  there  were  capitalists  even  in 
those  days,  although  they  reckoned  their  wealth  by 
thousands  rather  than  millions,  sent  two  ships  to  this 
section  to  trade  with  the  Indians  for  furs.  One  of  these 
ships  was  the  "Columbia,"  which  gave  the  name  to  the 
region,  part  of  which  still  retains  it,  although  the  section 
we  are  now  discussing  now  owns  and  boasts  of  the  name 
of  the  "Father"  of  his  and  our  country. 

Washington  became  a  State  five  years  ago.  It  is  a 
great  mining  country,  but  is  still  more  noted  for  its 
wonderful  lumber  resources.  The  trade  from  Puget 
Sound  is  tremendous.  One  company  alone  employs  1,250 
men  in  saw  mills  and  logging,  and  it  is  responsible  for 
having  introduced  improved  machinery  of  every  type  into 
the  section.  The  early  history  of  the  great  lumber  busi- 
ness is  full  of  interest,  and  this  is  one  point  alone  in  which 


THE  GREAT  NORTHWEST.  383 

the  advance  has  been  tremendous.  Another  great  com- 
pany cut  up  63,000,000  feet  of  lumber  in  one  year,  and 
shipped  more  than  half  of  it  out  of  the  country.  White 
cedar  of  the  most  costly  grade  is  very  common  in  Wash- 
ington, and  it  is  used  for  the  manufacture  of  shingles, 
which  sell  for  very  high  prices,  and  are  regarded  as 
unusually  and,  indeed,  abnormally  good.  White  pine  of 
immense  quantity  and  size  is  also  found.  Some  of  the 
logs  are  so  large  that  they  are  only  excelled  by  the 
phenomenal  big  trees  of  abnormal  growth  which  are  found 
some  hundreds  of  miles  farther  south  on  the  great 
Pacific  Slope. 

Idaho  is  another  of  the  great  States  of  the  great 
Northwest.  It  lies  largely  between  the  two  States  just 
described  so  briefly,  and  its  shape  is  so  peculiar  that  it  has 
been  spoken  of  as  resembling  a  chair,  with  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  Bitter  Root  Range  as  its  front  seat  and 
back.  Another  simile  likens  it  to  a  right-angled  triangle, 
with  the  Bitter  Root  Range  as  its  base.  It  is  a  vast  table- 
land, wedge  shape  in  character,  and  may  be  said  to  consist 
of  a  mass  of  mountain  ranges  packed  up  fold  upon  fold, 
one  on  top  of  the  other. 

Three  names  were  submitted  to  Congress  when  the 
Territory  was  first  named.  They  were  Shoshone,  Montana 
and  Idaho.  The  last  name  was  chosen,  finally,  because  it 
is  supposed  to  mean  "The  sight  on  the  mountain."  The 
more  exact  derivation  of  the  name  seems  to  be  an  old 
Shoshone  legend,  involving  the  fall  of  some  mysterious 
object  from  the  heavens  upon  one  of  the  mountains.  The 
scenery  in  this  State  is  varied  in  everything  save  in  beauty, 
which  is  almost  monotonous.  Bear  Lake,  one  of  its  great 
attractions,  is  a  fisherman's  paradise.  Its  waters  extend 


384  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

twenty  miles  in  one  direction  and  eight  or  nine  miles  in 
the  other.  This  vast  expanse  of  water  is  one  of  the  best 
trout  fishing  resorts  in  the  world.  Although  in  a  valley, 
Bear  Lake  is  so  high  up  in  the  mountains  that  its  waters 
are  frozen  up  for  many  months  in  the  year,  the  ice  seldom 
breaking  up  until  well  into  April.  At  all  times  the  water 
is  cold,  and  hence  especially  favorable  for  trout  culture. 
Lake  Pen  d'Oreilles  is  about  thirty  miles  long  and  varies  in 
width  from  an  insignificant  three  miles  to  more  than 
fifteen.  It  is  studded  with  islands  of  great  beauty  and 
much  verdure.  Close  by  it  is  the  Granite  Mountain,  with 
other  hills  and  peaks  averaging,  perhaps,  10,000  feet  in 
height.  The  lake  has  an  immense  shore  line,  extending  as 
much  as  250  miles.  For  fully  a  tenth  of  this  distance  the 
Northern  Pacific  tracks  are  close  to  the  lake,  affording 
passengers  a  very  delightful  view  of  this  inland  scene, 
which  has  been  likened  to  the  world-renowned  Bavarian 
lake,  Konigs  See. 

The  State  is  also  well  known  on  account  of  the  reputa- 
tion for  weird  grandeur  won  by  the  Snake  River,  also 
known  as  the  Shoshone.  This  is  a  very  rapid  stream  of 
water.  By  means  of  its  winding  course  it  measures  fully 
a  thousand  miles  in  Idaho  alone,  and  drains  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  State.  Near  the  headwaters  of  the  Snake 
River,  in  the  proximity  of  Yellowstone  Park,  there  are  very 
fertile  bottoms,  with  long  stretches  of  valley  lands.  The 
American  Falls  plunge  over  a  mass  of  lava  about  forty  feet 
high,  with  a  railroad  bridge  so  close  that  the  roar  of  the 
water  drowns  the  noise  of  the  locomotive.  For  seventy 
miles  the  Shoshone  River  runs  through  a  deep,  gloomy 
canon,  with  a  mass  of  cascades  and  many  volcanic  islands 
intervening.  Then  comes  the  great  Shoshone  Falls  them- 


THE  ORE  A  T  NOR  TH  WES  T.  385 

selves,  rivaling  in  many  respects  Niagara,  and  having 
at  times  even  a  greater  volume  of  water.  The  falls  are 
nearly  a  thousand  feet  in  width,  and  the  descent  exceeds 
two  hundred  feet.  M:iny  writers  have  claimed  that  these 
falls  have  features  of  beauty  not  equaled  in  any  part  of 
the  world.  According  to  one  description,  they  resemble  :i 
cataract  of  snow,  with  an  avalanche  of  jewels  amidst  solid 
portals  of  lava. 

Bancroft,  in  summing  up  the  great  features  of  this 
State,  says  very  concisely  that:  "It  was  the  common 
judgment  of  the  first  explorers  that  there  was  more  of  the 
strange  and  awful  in  the  scenery  and  topography  of  Idaho 
than  of  the  pleasing  and  attractive.  A  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  less  conspicuous  features  of  the 
country  revealed  many  beauties.  The  climate  of  the 
valleys  was  found  to  be  far  milder  than,  from  their  eleva- 
tion, could  have  been  expected.  Picturesque  lakes  were 
discovered  among  the  mountains,  furnishing  in  some  in- 
stances navigable  waters.  Fish  and  game  abound.  Fine 
forests  of  pine  and  firs  cover  the  mountain  slopes,  except 
in  the  lava  region;  and  nature,  even  in  this  phenomenal 
part  of  her  domain,  has  not  forgotten  to  prepare  the  earth 
for  the  occupation  of  man,  nor  neglected  to  give  him  a 
wondrously  warm  and  fertile  soil  to  compensate  for  the 
labor  of  subduing  the  savagery  of  her  apparently  waste 
places." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

IN    THE    WARM    SOUTHEAST. 

Florida  and  its  Appropriate  Name — The  First  Portions  of  North 
America  Discovered  by  White  Men — Early  Vicissitudes  of  its  Ex- 
plorers— An  Enormous  Coast  Line — How  Key  West  came  to  be 
a  great  Cigar  Town — The  Suwanee  River — St.  Augustine  and  its 
World-Renowned  Hotel — Old  Fort  Marion. 

LORIDA  is  the  name  given  to  one  of  the  least  known 
States  in  the  Union.  Ponce  de  Leon  was  the  god- 
father of  this  southeastern  corner  of  our  native  land.  Its 
baptism  took  place  in  a  remote  period.  The  day  of  the 
event  was  Easter  Sunday,  which  in  the  Spanish  language 
is  called  Pascua  Floria,  which  is  literally  interpreted  "The 
Flowery  Festival.''  Almost  by  accident,  therefore,  Florida 
received  a  name  which  is  singularly  appropriate  and  well 
chosen.  From  end  to  end,  in  either  direction,  there  is  a 
profusion  of  semi-tropical  beauty  and  of  flowers,  some  of 
them  entirely  peculiar  to  the  immediate  vicinity.  There  is 
an  abundance  of  fruit  as  well,  and  frequently  the  blossoms 
on  the  fruit  trees  make  a  lovely,  flower  show  in  themselves. 
The  State  arms  are  very  peculiar  and  appropriate.  The 
main  figure  is  that  of  an  Indian  lying  upon  a  bank,  scatter- 
ing flowers  around  him.  In  the  distance  the  sun  is  setting 
amid  beautiful  hills.  In  the  center  there  is  a  river  with  a 
steamboat  upon  it,  and  with  a  large  cocoanut  tree  growing 
by  the  side.  The  State's  motto  is  one  which  has  been 
adopted  by  many  communities,  but  which  is  ever  welcome 
for  the  purpose — "In  God  We  Trust." 

(886) 


N  THE  WARM  SOUTHEAST.  387 

In  regard  to  its  climate,  Florida  can  offer  a  great  deal 
of  variety.  Consumptives  by  the  tens  of  thousand  have 
sought  a  renewed  lease  of  life  in  the  warmest  sections  of 
the  State,  and  many  have  come  back  greatly  benefited. 
The  winters  are  of  the  Indian  summer  order,  being  singu- 
larly dry,  healthy  and  free  from  dust.  The  Gulf  Stream 
adds  from  five  to  ten  degrees  to  the  temperature  in  cold 
weather,  and  in  the  southern  section  the  temperature 
rarely  gets  below  freezing  point.  The  exceptionally  cold 
spell  of  1894-95  may  be  quoted  as  quite  an  exception  to  the 
general  rule,  and  the  heavy  loss  to  growing  fruits  was  as 
great  a  surprise  as  it  was  a  loss 

Florida  has  the  honor  of  being  the  first  portion  of  North 
America  to  be  discovered  by  white  people.  Ponce  de  Leon, 
whose  very  name  is  suggestive  of  romance  and  poetry,  ex- 
plored a  section  of  the  country  in  the  year  1513,  when  he 
proclaimed  the  sovereignty  of  Spain  over  it.  In  1527,  a 
Spanish  company  of  soldiers  attempted  to  drive  out  the 
native  inhabitants.  The  attempt  failed,  but  another  one 
some  fourteen  years  later  was  more  successful.  Spain  was 
not  given  a  clear  title  to  the  peninsula  without  protest. 
French  Huguenots  built  Fort  Caroline  on  St.  John's  Kiver 
at  about  the  middle  of  the  century.  Shortly  after  this 
enterprise,  a  Spanish  fleet  surprised  and  annihilated  the 
pioneers,  upon  whose  graves  they  placed  the  inscription, 
4 'Not  as  Frenchmen,  but  as  Lutherans."  This  brutal 
attempt  to  give  a  religious  aspect  to  the  murder  was  re- 
sented very  soon  after.  A  French  expedition  captured  the 
fort,  hung  the  garrison  one  after  the  other,  announcing  that 
they  did  so,  and  hanged  the  ruffians  "Not  as  Spaniards,  but 
as  traitors,  thieves  and  murderers." 

West  Florida  was  settled  at  the  close  of  the  Seventeenth 


388  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

Century,  and  in  17-63  the  territory  now  included  in  the 
State  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain  in  return  for  Cuba. 
Colonization  followed,  and  a  very  large  number  of  British 
Tories  settled  in  the  country.  In  1814,  the  United  States 
seized  portions  of  the  country,  and  four  years  later  it  be- 
came evident  that  European  rule  must  cease  in  it.  When 
in  1821  Spain  ceded  this  territory  to  the  United  States,  the 
number  of  white  inhabitants  was  barely  600,  although 
there  were  fully  4,000  Seminoles  residing  in  it. 

The  Seminole  War  commenced  in  1835,  and  continued 
for  seven  years.  The  war  cost  some  $20,000,000,  and 
over  1,500  American  soldiers  lost  their  lives  during  the 
campaign.  Over  30,000  troops  were  engaged  in  the  con- 
flict, and  the  Indians  by  taking  advantage  of  their  knowl- 
edge of  the  country,  held  out  against  superior  force  for  an 
extraordinary  length  of  time.  Gradually  the  savages  were 
driven  south,  and  at  last  the  Seminoles  were  overpowered. 
Those  who  survived  were  for  the  most  part  sent  west  of 
the  Mississippi  River.  A  few  are  still  found,  however,  on 
a  reservation  some  fifteen  miles  from  Fort  Pierce  on  Indian 
Eiver. 

When  the  Southern  States  seceded,  Florida  went  with 
them.  In  1864,  General  Seymour  led  7,000  troops  nearly 
as  far  as  Lake  City.  Jacksonville  remained  under  Federal 
control,  but  the  State  fortunately  escaped  being  made 
a  battle-ground  to  any  extent  between  the  opposing  forces. 

Florida  has  a  very  interesting  geological  record.  It 
was  evidently  founded  on  coral  reefs,  and  the  formations 
are  so  recent  that  few  minerals  are  found.  Phosphate 
rock  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  natural  productions  of 
the  State,  and  the  actual  value  of  this  has  not  yet  been 
thoroughly  ascertained.  The  State  itself  is  naturally 


THE  WARM  SOUTHEAST.  389 

divided  into  two  sections,  the  East  and  the  West.  East 
Florida  includes  a  long  peninsula,  and  extends  westward  to 
the  Suwanee  River,  concerning  which  the  negro  melodist 
delights  to  sing.  Western  Florida  is  more  inland  in  char- 
acter. The  measurements  of  the  State  are  peculiar.  Thus 
it  is  700  miles  from  the  Perdido  Eiver  to  Cape  Sable. 
From  the  Atlantic  to  the  extreme  west  the  distance  is 
about  400  miles,  and  from  north  to  south  the  distance  is 
slightly  greater.  The  peninsula  itself  averages  rather  less 
than  100  miles  in  width  throughout.  Florida  naturally 
possesses  an  enormous  coast  line.  Of  this  nearly  500 
miles  is  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  with  some  700  miles  on 
the  Gulf  of  Mexieo.  Harbors  abound  on  every  side,  and 
when  Florida  becomes  a  manufacturing  State  as  well  as  a 
fruit-growing  one,  its  resources  for  exporting  will  be  an 
immense  advantage  to  it  in  overcoming  competition  and 
opposition. 

This  coast  line  makes  sea  fishing  one  of  the  most  prof- 
itable occupations  in  the  State.  About  10,000  men  are 
kept  constantly  employed  in  this  work.  Some  of  the  fish 
found  here  are  choice  and  costly  delicacies,  and  include 
red  snapper,  pompano,  Spanish  mackerel  and  sea  trout. 
Of  turtle  there  is  an  abundance,  and  tarpon  fishing  pro- 
vides amusement  to  those  who  are  more  strictly  sportsman- 
like in  disposition.  Fishing  for  sponges  is  also  a  fairly 
remunerative  occupation,  which  always  excites  much  inter- 
est when  watched  by  visitors  from  other  States.  Key 
West  alone  sends  away  sponges  worth  $500,000  every 
year,  two  great  capitals  of  Europe  being  the  best  cus- 
tomers. 

Key  West  is,  however,  better  noted  for  its  cigars.  It 
is  situated  on  what  was  originally  called  Bone  Reef  by  the 


390  MY  NATIVE   LAXD. 

Spaniards,  on  account  of  great  quantities  of  human  bones 
being  found  on  it  by  the  early  explorers.  Eighty  years 
ago,  a  number  of  New  England  fishermen  located  at  Key 
West,  which  is  about  sixty  miles  from  Florida  proper  and 
about  ninety  miles  from  Havana.  The  great  revolution  in 
the  nature  of  the  town's  business  and  habits  was  brought 
about  by  the  settlement  in  it,  less  than  a  quarter  century 
ago,  of  a  large  band  of  Cuban  exiles.  These  brought  with 
them  the  secrets  of  the  manufacture  of  cigars  of  the 
highest  grade.  They  at  once  set  about  establishing  fac- 
tories as  large  as  their  means  allowed,  and  the  business 
has  grown  so  rapidly  that  there  are  now  facilities  for 
manufacturing  nearly  150,000,000  cigars  every  year.  To 
the  man  who  appreciates  the  difference  between  good  and 
bad  cigars  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  in  quality,  as 
well  as  quantity,  the  product  of  this  Spanish-American 
island  has  progressed. 

The  harbor  of  Key  West  is  the  ninth  port  of  entry  in 
the  country.  It  is  so  naturally  impregnable  that  it  escaped 
capture  during  the  Civil  War,  when  the  Gulf  Coast  ports 
were  a  special  source  of  attack  and  envy.  Legend  and 
history  twine  around  the  harbor  stories  of  thrilling  inter- 
est, many  of  which  have  formed  the  plots  for  successful 
and  celebrated  novels.  The  town  has  peculiar  but  attrac- 
tive streets,  with  tropical  trees  on  both  sides.  Seven  miles 
distant  is  Key  West,  the  most  extreme  southern  point  of 
United  States  territory.  From  the  immense  light-house  pier 
the  distance  to  the  island  of  Cuba  is  less  than  eighteen  miles. 

Returning  to  the  inland,  we  may  spend  a  few  minutes 

'Way  down    'pon  de  Suwanee  Ribber, 
Far,  far  away — 

Dare's  wha*  my  heart  is  turnin'  ebber — 
Dare's  wha'  de  ole  folks  stay. 


THE  WARM  SOUTHEAST.  391 

This  river,  as  we  have  seen,  forms  the  western  boun- 
dary of  Eastern  Florida.  It  is  a  very  romantic  stream, 
running  through  a  country  of  surpassing  beauty,  with 
tropical  trees  and  undergrowth  coming  right  to  the  water's 
edge.  It  enters  Florida  from  Southern  Georgia,  and  runs 
through  a  country  which  varies  from  forest  to  plain  and 
from  upland  to  valley.  Along  its  banks  there  are  a  number 
of  little  Southern  homes,  few  of  them  boasting  of  the 
magnificence  of  which  we  often  read,  but  all  of  them 
peaceful  and  attractive.  Of  one  of  these  we  give  an 
illustration.  At  first  glance  they  may  not  appear  to  be 
anything  very  remarkable  about  the  little  house  and  its 
surroundings,  but  on  second  thoughts  and  glances  some- 
thing more  than  poetical  will  be  discovered.  The  old 
negro  ballad  from  which  we  have  quoted  above  gives  in 
its  lines  a  charming  idea  of  the  river  and  of  the  memories 
and  thoughts  which  cling  to  it.  Excursion  parties  are 
very  frequent  along  the  river.  Some  indulge  in  hunting, 
and  take  advantage  of  the  profusion  of  game  on  every 
hand.  Others  prefer  to  indulge  in  peaceful  reverie  and  to 
think  only  of  the  quaint  old  folks,  who,  as  we  are  told  in 
the  song,  still  stay  in  the  vicinity.  tiaBCTOft  LibrftTV 

The  Ocklawaha  River  resembles  the  Suwanee  in  many 
respects.  Steamboats  run  along  it  for  a  considerable 
distance,  and  there  is  seldom  difficulty  in  securing  passen- 
gers. It  is  said  that  there  are  more  alligators  to  a 
hundred  square  feet  of  water,  in  sections  of  this  river, 
than  can  be  found  in  any  other  water  in  the  world.  From 
the  deck  of  a  passenger  steamer  it  is  quite  interesting  to 
watch  the  peculiar  proceedings  of  these  dangerous  creat- 
ures, and  many  conjectures  are  exchanged  as  to  what 
would  happen  in  the  event  of  any  one  of  the  watchers 


392  M Y  NATIVE  LAND. 

falling  overboard.  On  the  banks  of  the  river,  cedar  groves 
are  frequently  seen.  Florida  supplies  the  world  with  the 
wood  required  for  lead  pencils,  and  the  inroads  made  into 
her  cedar  forests  for  this  purpose  threaten  to  eventually 
rob  the  State  of  one  of  its  most  unique  features.  Cypress, 
a  wood  which  is  just  beginning  to  be  appreciated  at  its 
true  worth,  is  also  abundant  in  this  vicinity,  and  many  of 
the  much  talked-of  cypress  swamps  are  passed.  Pine- 
apples are  also  seen  growing  vigorously,  and  also  the 
vanilla  plant,  which  resembles  tobacco  in  its  leaf.  Vanilla 
leaf  is  gathered  very  largely,  and  sold  for  some  purpose 
not  very  clearly  defined  or  explained. 

The  banyan  tree  has  to  be  seen  to  be  understood.  It 
is  really  an  exclusive  product  of  Florida  and  is  found 
in  the  Key  West  country,  where  sea  island  cotton  will 
grow  all  the  year  around,  indifferent  to  changes  of  season. 
The  banyan  is  almost  a  colony  of  trees  in  itself,  having, 
apparently,  a  dozen  trunks  in  one.  All  the  upper  boughs 
are  more  or  less  united,  and  the  old  proverb  of  "In  union 
there  is  strength,"  seems  to  have  in  it  a  unique  illustration 
and  confirmation. 

Lake  Worth  is  one  of  the  prettiest  lakes  in  the  South. 
It  is  a  very  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  broken  only  by  Pitts' 
Island,  which  is  located  near  its  northern  end.  The  most 
useful  and  desirable  products  of  the  North  have  here  a  con- 
genial home,  alongside  those  most  loved  in  the  region  of 
the  equator.  A  New  Englandcr  may  find  his  potatoes,  sweet 
corn,  tomatoes  and  other  garden  favorites,  and  can  pluck, 
with  scarcely  a  change  in  his  position,  products  that  are 
usually  claimed  as  Brazilian.  He  finds  in  his  surround- 
ings, as  plentiful  and  as  free  as  the  water  sprinkling  before 
him,  such  strange  neighbors  as  coffee,  the  tamarind. 


IN  THE  WARM  SOUTHEAST.  393 

mango,  pawpa,  guava,  banana,  sapadillo,  almond,  custard 
apple,  niaumee  apple,  grape  fruit,  shaddock,  Avadaco 
pear,  and  other  equally  new  acquaintances. 

And  these  are  all  neighbors,  actual  residents,  natives  of 
the  soil,  not  imported  immigrants  or  exacting  visitors  to  be 
tenderly  treated.  Giant  relatives,  equally  at  home,  are 
the  rubber  tree,  mahogany,  eucalyptus,  cork  tree  and 
mimosa.  All  these,  within  forty  hours'  travel  of  New 
York,  to  be  reached  in  winter  by  an  all-rail  trip,  and  to  be 
enjoyed  in  a  climate  that  is  a  perpetual  May.  It  was  but 
a  few  years  ago  (less  than  a  dozen)  that  the  beauties  of 
Lake  Worth  were  at  first  dimly  reported  by  venturesome 
sportsmen,  who  had  gazed  upon  its  unspeakable  loveliness. 

To-day  the  taste  and  labor  of  wealthy  capitalists  from 
East  and  from  West,  have  lined  its  fair  shores  with  elegant 
homes.  One  of  these,  the  McCormick  Place,  has  for  the 
past  two  years  been  famous  for  its  wondrous  beauty.  It 
is  situated  at  Palm  Beach,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake, 
and  faces  westward  or  inland.  It  thus  receives  the  cool 
air  from  the  lake  and  the  breezes  from  the  Atlantic,  which 
is  but  a  stroll  distant.  The  entire  estate  comprises  100 
acres,  all  under  high  cultivation.  It  has  a  water  front  on 
both  lake  and  ocean  of  1,200  feet.  In  this  lovely  spot 
Mr.  McCormick  built  a  castle,  so  handsomely  finished, 
inside  and  out,  so  tastefully  designed  and  so  elegantly 
furnished,  that  one  would  imagine  he  expected  to  enter- 
tain royalty  within  its  walls. 

It  is  said  that  nowhere  on  the  continent  is  so  great  a 
variety  of  vegetable  growth  presented  in  one  locality,  as  is 
here  to  be  seen  in  the  full  perfection  of  lusty  growth. 
The  cacti  at  this  point  are  marvels  of  variety  and  beauty. 
One's  idea  of  what  a  cactus  is  can  never  be  complete  until 


394  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

one  has  witnessed  a  scene  such  as  this,  and  a  collection  of 
this  magnitude.  The  fruit  trees  form  a  mass  of  groves. 
In  some  of  these,  huge  cocoanuts  tower  away  above  all 
other  growth,  while  alongside  of  these  monarchs  of  arbory 
culture  there  are  groves  of  dwarf  trees,  less  tremendous 
but  quite  as  interesting. 

This  region  has  been  described  as  a  mental  quicksand. 
There  is  something  in  the  atmosphere  which  makes  the 
most  industrious  man  contentedly  idle.  Here  the  nervous, 
irritable,  fussy  individual,  who  for  years  has  never  known 
what  rest  meant,  and  who  has  fidgeted  when  he  could  not 
work,  finds  himself  relaxing,  against  his  will,  into  a  condi- 
tion of  what  a  celebrated  statesman  described  as  " innocu- 
ous desuetude.."  The  balminess  of  the  air,  which  is  at 
once  warm  and  invigorating  and  bracing,  without  being 
severe,  brings  about  a  natural  feeling  of  rest.  The  fascina- 
tion which  this  creates  soon  becomes  overpowering.  The 
longer  the  visitor  remains  the  more  completely  and 
hopelessly  does  he  give  away  to  his  feelings,  until  at  last 
he  only  tears  himself  away  by  a  painful  effort. 

Biscayne  Bay  stands  at  the  terminus  of  the  peninsula 
of  Florida,  and  at  the  extreme  southeastern  end  of  the 
United  States.  The  visitor  who  stands  here  is  on  what  is 
frequently  called  the  great  projecting  toe  of  the  Union. 
South  of  him  there  are  a  number  of  islands,  but  of  the 
main  land  there  is  no  more.  The  bay  is  almost  a  lake. 
It  sets  well  into  the  coast,  but  is  not  quite  enclosed  by 
land.  It  is  between  five  and  ten  miles  wide  and  is  forty 
miles  long.  A  score  of  little  inlets  feed  it  from  the  ocean. 
The  water  is  blue  and  clear  and  of  no  great  depth,  making 
the  lake  one  of  the  finest  cruising  places  in  the  world. 
All  along  the  shores  there  are  picturesque  little  settle- 


THE  WARM  SOUTHEAST.  397 

ments,  all  of  them  distinctly  Southern  in  their  appearance, 
and  concerning  each  of  which  the  traveler  can  hear  legend 
without  number. 

St.  Augustine  is  perhaps  the  most  talked-about  city  in 
Florida.  It  is  a  quaint  old  Spanish  city  with  a  great 
history.  The  evidences  of  the  past  seem  to  be  disappear- 
ing rapidly,  the  retreat  being  forced  by  the  introduction 
of  modern  .ideas  and  immense  sums  of  modern  capital. 
Memorial  Church  is  one  of  the  features  of  the  town,  and 
behind  it  the  traveler  sees,  as  he  approaches,  turrets  and 
towers  of  every  shape  and  size.  The  pavements  are 
almost  uniformly  good,  and  as  one  is  driven  along  the 
streets  for  the  first  time,  every  turning  seems  to  bring  to 
light  some  new  wonder  and  some  unexpected  beauty. 
Hedges  formed  of  oleanders,  arbor  vitse,  larches  and 
cedars,  to  say  nothing  of  masses  of  roses  of  all  kinds, 
upset  all  his  preconceived  notions  of  tree,  shrub  and  flower 
growth,  and  convince  him  that  he  has  come  to  a  land 
flowing  indeed  with  milk  and  honey,  where  winters  are 
practically  unknown. 

The  Hotel  Ponce  de  Leon  is  naturally  the  great  object 
of  his  search,  and  if  his  purse  affords  it  the  tourist 
certainly  stops  here,  if  only  for  the  sake  of  saying  that  he 
has  slept,  for  one  night  at  least,  in  this  extraordinary  and 
marvelously  magnificent  hostelry.  If  the  Ponce  de  Leon 
were  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis  or  Chicago,  it 
would  excite  murmurs  of  admiration  on  every  hand.  But 
its  existence  would  not  be  regarded  as  something  extra- 
ordinary, as  it  certainly  is  in  a  town  of  the  size  of  St. 
Augustine.  The  enterprise  which  led  to  its  construction 
has  been  commented  on  again  and  again,  and  the  liberal 
methods  of  management  have  also  been  the  subject  of 


398  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

much  comment.  As  the  carriage  passes  through  the 
arched  gateway  into  the  enclosed  court,  blooming  all  the 
year  round  with  fragrance  and  beauty,  the  tourist  begins 
to  apologize  mentally  for  the  skepticism  in  which  he  has 
indulged,  concerning  this  wonder  of  the  age.  After 
mounting  several  successive  terraces  of  broad  stone  steps, 
he  finds  himself  at  last  before  the  magnificent  front  of  the 
great  hotel.  Before  him  there  is  the  grand  doorway, 
surmounted  by  the  oft-described  arch  of  Spanish  shields 
in  terra  cotta.  All  around  there  are  broad  galleries  and 
wide  windows,  with  very  costly,  artistic  cappings.  The 
galleries  are  supported  by  massive  but  neat  pillars,  and  the 
shaded  nooks  and  quiet  corners  are  full  of  romantic 
influence. 

Everything  is  reminiscent  of  old  Spain,  although  the 
magnificence  and  architecture  is  often  that  of  the  extreme 

o 

East.  There  are  five  elegantly  decorated  salons,  in  which 
there  are  tables  of  costly  onyx,  and  on  whose  walls  there 
are  paintings  of  great  splendor.  On  the  ceiling  above  him 
exquisite  frescoes  tell  the  story  of  the  old  cavalier  after 
whom  the  hotel  is  named,  and  of  his  patient  and  faithful 
search  for  the  fabled  fountain  of  youth  which  no  one  has 
yet  found.  At  dinner  the  visitor  is  almost  appalled  by 
the  magnificence  of  the  service,  and  his  appetite  is  apt  ta 
be  injured  by  his  reflections  as  to  the  cost  of  the  silver 
and  porcelain  set  before  him.  Sometimes  as  many  as  a 
thousand  guests  sit  down  together,  and  the  service  seems 
to  be  perfect  for  an  unlimited  number  of  visitors. 

This  great  hotel  was  erected  like  the  great  temple  de- 
scribed in  scripture,  practically  without  hammer  or  nails. 
Being  molded  from  concrete,  it  is  practically  proof  against 
weather  and  time,  and  it  is  fireproof  in  a  sense  of  the  term, 


IN  THE  WARM  SOUTHEAST.  399 

far  more  literal  than  that  generally  adopted  in  large  cities. 
There  is  no  sham  work,  from  basement  to  tower.  Italian 
marble,  terra  cotta  and  Mexican  onyx  are  the  principal 
materials  used,  and  nothing  "equally  as  good"  is  tolerated. 

The  view  from  St.  Augustine  can  hardly  be  excelled  in 
any  part  of  the  world.  The  old  city  gates  remind  the 
tourist  of  Spanish  stories  and  Oriental  fables.  Net  far 
distant  he  sees  Fort  Marion,  described  as  the  oldest  fortifi- 
cation in  the  United  States.  It  was  built  by  one  of  the 
Spanish  Kings  at  great  expense,  and,  according  to  the 
opinion  of  experts,  is  likely  to  survive  many  generations 
to  come.  It  is  constructed  of  cocquina  cement,  found  only 
in  Florida,  and  which  seems  to  be  everlasting  in  character. 

Fort  Marion  has  been  the  scene  in  years  gone  by  of 
countless  events  of  thrilling  interest,  and  the  student  of 
history,  who  sees  it  for  the  first  time,  delights  to  conjure  up 
reminiscences  concerning  it.  In  the  old  Indian  war  days 
there  were  several  massacres  at  this  point,  in  which  the 
Indians  occasionally  outdid  themselves  in  deeds  of  blood. 
About  twenty  years  ago,  the  old  fort  was  turned  into  an 
Indian  prison,  and  to  it  were  taken  some  of  the  worst  and 
apparently  most  irreclaimable  members  of  Indian  tribes. 
This  included  Mochi,  the  Indian  squaw  who  seemed  to  re- 
gard murder  as  a  high  art  and  a  great  virtue,  "Rising 
Bull,"  "Medicine  Water,"  "Big  Mocassin"  and  other  red 
ruffians  who  had  proved  themselves  beyond  all  hope  of 
reformation.  The  watch-tower  of  the  fort  stands  high 
above  surrounding  buildings,  and  is  probably  one  of  the 
oldest  watch-towers  and  light-houses  in  the  world. 

The  old  sea-wall  runs  from  the  fort  past  the  historical 
old  slave-market  and  the  plaza,  where  cool  breezes  can  be 
obtained  on  the  hottest  days.  There  is  the  cathedral,  the 


400  MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

oldest  place  of  worship  in  the  country,  if  the  local  his- 
torians are  to  be  believed,  with  its  chime  of  bells  which 
first  called  the  faithful  to  worship  more  than  200  years 
ago.  On  the  east  the  smooth  waters  of  the  attractive  bay 
i  ivet  the  attention  of  every  visitor  who  has  in  him  a  particle 
of  poetry,  or  appreciation  of  the  beautiful.  Not  far  away 
is  Anastasia  Island.  At  the  north  of  Mananzas  Bay  is  the 
spot  where  Sir  Francis  Drake,  one  of  England's  first  ad- 
mirals, landed,  and  close  by  is  the  oft-described  light- 
house, with  its  old  Spanish  predecessor  just  north  of  it. 

Not  far  from  St.  Augustine  is  the  Carmonna  vineyard. 
Here  there  are  seventy-five  acres  of  land  covered  with 
grape  vines.  The  second  year  these  vines  yielded  two  and 
a  half  tons  of  grapes  per  acre.  The  sea  of  leaves,  respond- 
ing to  the  gentle  breeze  which  generally  blows  up,  presents 
an  appearance  of  green  very  restful  to  the  eye,  and  opens 
up  new  ideas  as  to  color  and  expanse.  All  around  Moultrie 
there  are  acres  and  acres  of  white  Niagara  grapes,  and  in  a 
few  years  Florida  shipments  of  this  fruit  will  be  enormous. 


